‘Mullahs & Mangalsutras’: A look at 'hate speeches' in Indian politics in recent history

In the last decade, there have been several major allegations of hate speeches made, with the Election Commission issuing notices to prominent leaders like Home Minister Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath - the Uttar Pradesh CM, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

India, the world's largest democracy, is witnessing its 18th Lok Sabha elections -- with the end almost in sight -- as Narendra Modi's BJP seeks to fulfil its hopes of "400-paar", in the House of the People, with the I.N.D.I.A. bloc looking to stage an upset.

In this fervent election campaign, the saffron party leaders have resorted to raking up divisive issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in his campaign speeches, this time, used phrases such as "those with more children" and "infiltrators", which the opposition and many others claimed referred to the Muslim community. After a letter from the Election Commission to party president J P Nadda -- a surprising move from the body overseeing the polls to not directly send a letter to the candidate they feel is running afoul of the poll codes -- Modi clarified in an interview that his remarks were not aimed at the Muslim community but towards all poor families, and went on to say that he would be unworthy of public life the day he brought up 'Hindu-Muslim'. 

In rallies since then, the PM has gone on to say that I.N.D.I.A. aims to snatch reservations from OBCs and give them to Muslims. Modi's 'X' handle also has another snippet from his interaction with the media where he says that those who turned down the Ram mandir invite are very scared of this election. 

Amit Shah, in the election season, said that power supply was uninterrupted during Ramzan but not on Janmashtami when the Samajwadi Party was governing Uttar Pradesh. Shah, who, in 2019, had said "When we come back to seek your vote for the 2024 general election, India will be among the top three superpowers of the world," however, has been quiet on that front this time. 

When Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat, the state witnessed the Godhra riots – where over 1,000 died – that left a scar on the psyche of the nation. Modi ultimately was given a clean chit by a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in 2012, exonerating him of any alleged involvement in a 'larger conspiracy' behind the tragedy, two years before he became Prime Minister. 

Amit Shah, who the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had charged with kidnapping, extortion, and murder of one Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife and one other person - who some media reports refer to as his friend, and others as his aide - was cleared of ordering the police to carry out the extrajudicial killings. A special CBI court dropped the case in December 2014, the year Narendra Modi came to power. 

Shah’s long links to Modi are well known, with the former having also served as Gujarat’s Home Minister when Modi was CM. Under the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, ‘sectarian hostility’ has returned to the ‘centre stage of India’s public discourse’ a paper published in the Jindal Global Law Review claims. Bloomberg in September 2023 said Modi’s party has been linked with the most hate speech in India, citing a Hindutva Watch report.

Hindutva Watch, an independent research project documenting hate crimes and hate speech against religious minorities in India has had its social media handle on X withheld and its site made inaccessible in the country in January 2024, ahead of the polls. 

Understandably, as Modi seeks a third term in office there is a concern about hate speeches during election time and the subsequent impact they might have on society. 

In the last decade, there have been several major allegations of hate speeches made, with the Election Commission issuing notices to prominent leaders like Shah, Yogi Adityanath - the Uttar Pradesh CM, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.   

With the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) coming into effect during polls, any speeches or actions violative of it come under the EC’s scanner, with notices being issued to the violators over the same. 

This time, the EC sent simultaneous notices to Nadda and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, purportedly for the speeches made by Modi and Rahul Gandhi (though the poll body did not name either in their letters). 

The MCC, however, isn't enforceable in court as a comprehensive rulebook with specified penalties. Typically, warnings from the CEC or the EC are the primary and final measures taken to address violations, often resulting in suspended complaints. 

2014: When India was painted saffron and Congress’ decades old rule came to an end

Amit Shah’s ‘badla’

Amit Shah.

Shah was issued an EC notice on April 7, prior to the 2014 general elections, for his alleged hate speeches in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar on April 3 and 4. Shah, who was the saffron party’s president at the time, made communal references during his campaign in the riot-hit parts of UP and was asked to “explain” his stand to the EC. 

In Bijnor, he made remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and Dalits, saying that the BSP chief gave 19 tickets to a community that “tried to violate the dignity of women” (jo...aapki behen betiyon ki avhelna karta hai, unki aabru par hath daalta hai, us varg vishesh ko 19 ticket de diye).

In Muzaffarnagar and Shamli, he made the infamous ‘badla’ comment where he said that the UPA government gives “compensation and protects the people who kill Jats” and that the coming election will be an “election of revenge” (Yeh apmaan ke badle ka chunav hai aur jinho ne anyaay kiya hai unko sabak sikhane ka chunav hai…Yeh Mughal kaal nahi hai ki jahan talvaro, teero se badla liya jaata tha. 2014 ka chunaav saamne hain, button dabake aap badla le sakte hai). 

Shah responded to the EC on April 12, following which the EC condemned his misconduct and said that it was “convinced that he has made highly provocative speeches which have the impact of aggravating existing differences or create mutual hatred between different communities, religious or linguistics, and thus violative of aforesaid provisions of Model code of conduct”’.

“The Commission, without prejudice to any order/notice issued or to be issued in the matter relating to MCC violations to him, hereby condemns the impugned statements made by him during election meetings held at Shamli, Bijnore and Muzaffarnagar and censures Shri Amit Shah of Bharatiya Janata Party for the above said misconduct,” the EC statement read.

An FIR was also filed against Shah for his two speeches. 

Yogi Adityanath’s ‘Ram rajya’

Yogi Adityanath.

Adityanath - whose guru Digvijaya Nath was a member of the Hindu Mahasabha and played a leading role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement which culminated in the demolition of the Babri masjid and another period of communal violence in India - was issued a show-cause notice on September 7, 2014, for his communal speech in UP’s Noida in the run-up to bypolls. 

With the MCC already in effect, the EC in its notice said that making an appeal to vote on grounds of religion is a ‘corrupt practice’ under Section 123(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951.

Adityanath, seeking votes, issued a clarion call for the establishment of ‘Ram rajya’ in the country.

Adityanath said that in Muradabad, Hindus are ‘secluded’ and their right to exercise their religion is taken away from them. He alleged that the microphone of a temple in the city had been taken off while the mics of mosques remained intact. He further claimed that people who opposed the aforementioned practice were sent to jail.

Pitching Ram as the hope of the nation, Adityanath said those wishing to see Ram rajya in India should vote for BJP (Ram desh ki aastha hai… Bhartiya rashtrata ke prateek hain…Ram rajya ki sthaapna chahte hain UP mei bhi aap se anurod hai ki 13 tareekh ko padne wala ek ek vote BJP ke paksh mei jaan chahiye).

Two days after the notice was issued, the EC reprimanded Adityanath and asked him to be “careful, cautious” in his campaigns.

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘fear’

Rahul Gandhi.

Congress leader and former party president Rahul Gandhi received an EC notice on May 9, 2014, for his speech in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan on May 1.

Referring to the BJP, the Congress leader said that the party had created an environment of hatred and fear in the country. He further suggested that if BJP came to power, “22,000 people will be killed”. (Ek darr hai kya yahan par shanti rahegi ya nah…Yeh darr hai hamari zindagi mei bilkul, BJP hogi toh ladayi hogi, BJP hogi toh 22,000 loug marege kyunki woh gussa phailate hain, woh krodd phailate hain.)

A day after the EC notice, Congress defended Rahul’s speech saying that it was taken “out of context” and was ‘wrongly reported’.

Raj Thackeray’s ‘Maratha pride’

Raj Thackeray.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) founder Raj Thackeray was served an EC notice on October 13, 2014, for his alleged hate speech in Ghatkopar and Kalna during the Maharashtra Assembly election campaign. MNS was founded on the ideals of ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Marathi manus’, a point which Thackeray strongly stressed in his speech.

In his October 5 speech at Ghatkopar, Thackeray said that “no employment will be provided to non-Marathis” if the MNS came to power. He further said that non-Marathis would not be allowed to enter Maharashtra and that they would have to face an inquiry when coming into the state.

“Their inquiry will be started from the train itself...No arrangement to live, no arrangement for work, then get out. Don't come to my state…Only our boys and girls should get jobs here...," he said.

In his October 7 speech in Kalna, he made objectionable remarks about slum dwellers and said that people from other states take the jobs of Marathi boys away.

“Slums (jhopadpatti) spring up but our Marathi people do not get affordable homes they deserve…They come to Maharashtra as private security guards with double-barrel guns, where did you get it, were you a dacoit? People from other states come and they get jobs of security guards…”, he said.

The MNS leader however, denied the hate speech allegations saying that parts of his speech were taken “completely out of context” and that “the citizens of India who have been born and brought up in Maharashtra and who are the sons and daughters of soil would be provided preference in job opportunities in employment”.

The EC censured Thackeray’s statement and said that “There cannot be a declaration or announcement of a public policy which is violative of fundamental rights of citizens of India as enshrined in the Constitution of India, like, right to move freely throughout the territory of India.”

MNS offered ‘unconditional support’ to the BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra ahead of the Lok Sabha elections this time. 

Azam Khan: Who let the dogs out?

Azam Khan.

Samajwadi Party’s (SP) controversial leader Azam Khan got served an EC notice on April 9, 2014, for his remarks on Kargil war, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.

Khan referred to Modi’s 2013 statement on the Godhra riots where he spoke about the decisions he had to take as a CM and how the course of events was “sorrowful” for him. 

Speaking about the killings that took place in 2002, Modi had said, “If a puppy comes under a car and dies when we are driving, we feel sad then too”.

Reacting to this, the SP leader alleged that Modi referred to Muslims as dogs and said that Muslims “don’t need his sympathy” (Hame tumhara gham nahi chahiye… kutte ke bache ke bade bhai Narendra Modi ji hame tumhara gham nahi chahiye…).

Subsequently, the BJP registered a complaint saying that Khan had used derogatory terms against Modi.

Khan, however, defended his statement during his election campaign in UP’s Ghaziabad on April 5, reiterating that Modi referred to Muslims as “dogs”. He further remarked on the Kargil war, saying that not Hindu but Muslim soldiers had been responsible for India’s victory.

“Kisne kaha hume kutta? Narendra Modi ne kaha… Kargil ki pahadiyo ko fateh karne wala koi Hindu nahi tha balki… Allahu Akbar keh kar fateh karne wala Musalman fauji tha…” 

Khan also made derogatory remarks towards Amit Shah and labelled him a “rapist, murderer” at a rally in Rampur on April 7, 2014. He alleged that Shah was intent on creating an “atmosphere of terror and is a convict under IPC section 302 (Whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine)”.

“Woh jo dehshat paida karne aaya hai Amit Shah… woh 302 ka mujrim hai… apradhi, gunda number ek ka… hamari majboori hai usse gunda kehne ki… usko hum gunde ke sivaye kuch nahi kehsakte hain… kyuki kisi qatil ko sahreef nahi kaha jaasakta… aur balatkari ko shareef nahi kaha jaasakta…”

He was then banned from campaigning for the general elections from April 11. The ban was lifted after 7 days.

Amit Shah was in 2010 arrested after surrendering to the CBI in the case pertaining to the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter. He was charged with five sections of the IPC including 302. Shah was also jailed in the case. 

Giriraj growls 'Go to Pakistan'

Giriraj Singh.

The EC issued a notice to BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh on April 22 for his hate speech in Jharkhand’s Deoghar and Bokaro on April 18.

Violating MCC provisions, Singh made communal remarks directed towards Muslims and also said that those who oppose Modi "belong in Pakistan".

Referring to Muslims, he said that “those who slaughter cows” were getting subsidies while those who herded cows were left with nothing. In its notice, the ECI noted that Singh had tried to create a communal divide by polarising voters. 

“Aaj desh ke andar gaay kaatne walo ko subsidy di jaarahi hai, lekin gaay paalne wale ko kuch nahi,” he had said.

Singh, who was campaigning for yet-to-be PM Modi at the time, was also issued a show-cause notice by the EC in which he was charged with inciting voters—he said detractors of Modi “belong in Pakistan”.

“Jo loug Narendra Modi ko rokna chahte hain…aise lougon ko jagah Hindustan mei nahi…Jharkhand mei nahi…Pakistan mei hogi”, Singh had said.

The EC reacted to his speeches and demanded a reply by April 24. Singh responded within the stipulated time, following which the EC condemned his remarks saying that it “is convinced that he has made [a] highly provocative speech which had the impact of aggravating existing differences or creating mutual hatred between different communities, religious or linguistics”.

2019: The year of riots and resistance

Yogi Adityanath’s ‘green virus’ paranoia, Babur blues

Yogi Adityanath at Ram temple.

The UP CM came under EC scrutiny for his communal remarks at a rally in Meerut on April 9, 2019. He was issued a notice on April 11 for referring to Muslims as "green virus".

Adityanath targeted Mayawati for appealing to the Muslim community for votes in the name of Muslim caliph Ali and said that the BSP and other alliance partners (Congress, SP, Lokdal) have been infected with the ‘green virus’. 

Referring to the Congress manifesto at that time, Adityanath said that the grand old party favours “anti-national” elements, hinting that said elements were Muslims. 

“Congress ka haath deshdrohiyo ke saath…Jab Rahul Gandhi Kerala ki ek seat par naamankran karne gaye, wahan…ek hara jhanda chand sitare jispe bane hue the…,” he said.

Bringing up Muslim caliph ‘Ali’ in his speech, Adityanath said, “Agar inko (Congress, SP, BSP, Lokdal) Ali par vishwas hai toh hame bhi Bajrangbali par vishwas hai. Yeh manch par Ali Ali chilate hue keval ek hara virus iss desh ko dasne ke liye phir se bejna chahte hain lekin…paschimi UP mei ek baar Congress, SP, BSP, Lokdal ke ghatbandhan ko poori tarah dhwast kar dijiye, yeh hara virus bhartiya rajneeti se sadev…”

Subsequently, the EC barred the UP chief minister from holding public meetings, processions, rallies, roadshows and interviews for 72 hours from April 16. 

Adityanath, despite the EC action, did not cease his communal rhetoric. 

Right after his ban ended, Adityanath, in a speech at UP’s Sambhal on April 19, appealed for votes to the public, asking them whether they give the nation to ‘descendants of Babur’, the Mughal emperor, whether they would give India over to ‘anti-nationals’, ‘terrorists’, and ‘those against Bajrangbali’. 

Sharing an anecdote from the Parliament from when Adityanath spoke to SP leader Shafiqur Rahman Barq, Yogi recalled that when asked about his ancestors Barq apparently told the Gorakhpur Mutt chief priest that he was Babur’s descendant. 

Adityanath, who some months back confessed that he became a monk due to the Ram mandir movement, conflated Barq’s response to pitch the Muslim community as a threat to India’s governance.  

“Apne aap ko Babur kehne wala vyakti gathbandhan ka pratyashi ban kar aata hai. Aap kya deshdrohi ke haatho mei desh ki dorr saumpna chahte hain? Aatankwadiyo ke haath mei desh ki dorr saumpenge? Apne ko Babur ki aulaad kehe walo ko…Bajrangbali ke virodhiyo ke haath mei desh ki dorr saumpege?,” he said.

The EC demanded a response from Adityanath over these remarks within 24 hours. Deccan Herald could not find the UP CM’s reply to the EC.

KCR fans the communal flames

K Chandrashekar Rao.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Chandrashekar Rao delivered a communally charged speech in an election rally on March 17. KCR was issued an EC notice on April 9, 2014, on account of an MCC violation.

The BRS leader said that Hindus have “double standards” and were trying to “ignite” hatred in the country.

“Ee Hindu gaalu…Bondu gaalu…Dikkumalina…Daridmpu gaalti…Desham lo aggi petale gattar levale (These Hindu people have double standards and try to spread fire in the country, they are like gutter)” he had said.

Subsequently, the EC demanded KCR’s response within three days (by April 12) and said that the speech had the “potential of disturbing harmony and aggravating the existing differences between social and religious communities, and appealing to communal feelings, you have violated the above-said provisions of the Model Code of Conduct.”

Giriraj Singh’s ‘burial’ of secularism

Giriraj Singh.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh followed up his 2014 ‘go to Pakistan’ remark with another communally charged statement in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. 

On April 24, 2019, Singh delivered an election speech in Begusarai where he demeaned Muslim traditions saying that they need ‘three handspans of space’ to bury their dead while his ancestors were not buried, charging at the community saying that if they can’t say ‘vande mataram’ then India wouldn’t forgive them.

“Jo vande mataram nahi kehsakta, jo bharat ki maatra bhoomim ko naman nahi karsakta, arey Giriraj ke toh baba dada Simaria ghat mei Ganga ke kinare mare, ussi bhoomi par kabr bhi nahi banaya, tumhe toh teen haath ki jagah bhi chahiye agar tum nahi kar paoge toh desh kabhi maaf nahi karegi,” the Union Minister said.

Shah was present when Singh made these comments at a college. 

Subsequently, the EC issued a notice to him on April 29 and demanded a response within 24 hours. Condemning his actions, the commission further ‘strictly’ warned Singh to remain careful and refrain from delivering such speeches in the future.

Navjot Singh Sidhu chooses the wrong road for raging

Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu is no stranger to making headlines - be it his comedy shows, his manslaughter case, cricket, or politics, he has always been in the news. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sidhu again came under EC scrutiny for a speech he made on April 15, in Bihar’s Katihar district. 

Sidhu appealed to Muslims during his campaign for Congress candidate Tariq Anwar, labelling the saffron party as “conspirators” and saying that the party, along with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, wanted to create division within the Muslim community and that the “minority is majority” in the area where he was campaigning. 

“Mai apne Muslim bhaiyo ko ek hi baat kehne aaya hoon ki aap yeh aisi constituency hain jahan aap minority banke majority mei ho 62 per cent constituency mei aapka varchasva hai, yeh BJP wale shatyandrakari loug aapko bantne ka prayas karenge...woh yahan pe Owaisi sahab jaise lougu ko laake ek nayi party saath mei khadi karke aap logu ke vote baantke yeh jeetna chahte hain…”, he said.

The EC issued a notice on April 20, 2019. Sidhu responded by saying that he has been “misquoted/misconstructed by the media” and this speech should be taken “as a whole and in context”.

The EC in the April 22 order, asserted that the Congress leader made “an objectionable speech which has the tone and tenor to aggravate existing differences and create mutual hatred between different religious communities”. 

The EC further said that his speech had an “undertone and propensity to polarise the elections”. Sidhu was then barred from campaigning for 72 hours, beginning April 23.

Gopal Bhargav’s polarising ‘patriotism’

Gopal Bhargav.

BJP leader Gopal Bhargav, ahead of Madhya Pradesh by-polls in 2019, claimed that Congress leader Kantilal Bhuria represented Pakistan and that the election was not a contest between political parties but one between India and its neighbouring country. The speech came during his campaign for Bhanu Bhuria in Jhabua on September 30.

He further added that the country’s “honour” was at stake and asked the voters to choose a side between India and Pakistan. 

“...Iss samay desh ki izzat daav pe hai yeh kisi do party ka chunav nahi hai balki Hindustan aur Pakistan ke beech mei chunav hai. Yeh hamare Bhanu bhai Hindustan ka pratinidhva karte hain aur Kantilal Bhuria Pakistan ka pratinidhva karte hain…issliye mitron mai aaj aapse kehna chahta hoon haath uthake bataiye hum Hindustan ke saath hain ya Pakistan ke saath,” he said. 

The EC, in its order dated October 14, following a complaint from Congress’ state convenor (Bhopal), J P Dhanopia, said that the BJP leader’s speech had the effect of “aggravating differences between the supporters of two contesting candidates by referring them as representatives of two countries, namely India and Pakistan”.

The commission advised him to be ‘careful’ in the future in public addresses and political campaigns.

Azam Khan ka 'Ailaan-e-Jung'

Azam Khan.

SP leader Azam Khan came under EC scrutiny again for his speeches in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur ahead of the 2019 general elections, where his statements between April 5 and 12 when campaigning, drew the poll body’s ire. Khan was hit with a show-cause notice on April 16 an barred from making public appearances for 72 hours. 

On April 5 in the Swar assembly constituency, he labelled Modi a “murderer of Muslims” and called BJP leaders “fascists”.

“Kya karsakte ho fascists?… Pradhan Mantri musalman ke qatil hai va dharam ke thekedaar hain…BJP ke neta sivaay musalmano gaali dene ke alawa koi kaam nahi karte hai… yeh chunav sirf issliye hai ki musalmano se jitni nafrat kar sako karo, koi kameena se kameena koi zaleel se zaleel, arey lanath hai uss maa ki kok par jis maa ne aisa kaput paida kiya,” he said.

On April 7, the SP leader was campaigning in the 38-Milak assembly constituency where he called upon Muslims to take “revenge” against the saffron party for treating them like “dogs”.

“Aao, ailan-e-jung ka naara lagao aur zaalimo par toot pado…jo tumhe pilla aur kutta kehte hain, unse badla lo…,” he said.

On April 12 he delivered a similar speech in the Bilaspur assembly constituency as well. Speaking about the area’s collector, he implied that the officer was against Muslims and alleged that before joining his duty there, he had razed 42 mosques where he had been posted before.

“Maine Urdu Gate bohot khoobsurat banaya tha, sarkar ke paise se banaya tha…lekin maujooda collector aaya isne sirf issliye giraya ki iska naam Urdu Gate hai…yeh jahan se aaya hai kareeban 42 Masjide shaheed karke aaya hai,” he said.

When slapped with a notice, Khan tendered an “unconditional apology” to the EC and assured the commission that he would “restrain” himself from using “expression[s] which may be remotely under the ambit of being objectionable”.

The EC then passed an order on April 30 observing that the SP leader made “highly provocative” speeches which have the potential to “polarise the elections”. The commission also barred him from holding public processions, meetings, rallies, roadshows, interviews etc. for 48 hours, starting May 1.

Who guards the guardians

The current Election Commission

Between the last time India saw its general elections and now, the Election Commission has witnessed two resignations. One came in 2020, when Ashok Lavasa, who was next in line to be the CEC chose to join the Asian Development Bank instead, a year after he dissented over a clean chits the EC gave to Narendra Modi for his speeches - one where he targeted Rahul’s decision to contest from Wayanad, saying in that constituency “country’s majority is in minority”, and another, where the PM said Congress was “running away from majority-dominated areas” to “take refuge in areas where the majority is in minority”.  

That election the EC cleared Modi of at least eight model code violation complaint cases. Lavasa, apart from these two objections, dissented three more times. Rahul Gandhi was handed a clean chit in his violation complaint case too. 

On March 9, 2024, Arun Goel resigned, a week before the Lok Sabha election dates for this year were announced. There have been speculations that this was because of differences with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. When asked about Giel’s sudden resignation, Kumar said “one's personal space should not be touched” while insisting that dissent within the panel was always encouraged. 

With Goel’s resignation and Anup Chandra Pandey’s retirement, two election commission members - retired bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar - were appointed by a Narendra Modi-chaired panel, a month before the elections, and amid objections raised by Leader of Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury - also a member of this panel - over the shortlist not being shared with him on time. Apart from Modi and Chowdhury, the other member of this panel is from the Union Council of Ministers, which is comprised of BJP leaders in the current structure. 

This time around 100 civil servants have written to the Election Commission asking it to publicly explain why there is little action against hate speech made by BJP leaders. The Election Commission also initially refused to release the constituency-wise data of the absolute number of votes cast but has now done so for the phases polled a day after the Supreme Court refused to direct the poll body to do so. 

Over the past two elections, the EC has remained mum on numerous occasions where notable leaders have made inflammatory comments. These include the likes of Shah, Praveen Togadia, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Uddhav Thackeray, Ramdas Kadam and Uma Bharti.

In 2019, Shah addressing a rally in West Bengal, where he talked about the NRC, made a veiled reference to Muslims as “infiltrators”, saying that the BJP would “remove every single infiltrator from the country, except Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs”. 

Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader and Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad President Praveen Togadia in 2014 claimed that Muslims were buying properties in Hindu-dominated areas to “throw them out” and that Hindus should take the “law in their own hands” and “scare Muslims away”. 

Firebrand BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, explicitly propagated violence in her December 2022 speech in Karnataka’s Shivamogga. 

Speaking of ‘Love Jihad’ - a term coined by Hindutva activists - Pragya said that Hindus should “sharpen their knives” to behead those [Muslims] who “practice Love Jihad” to “save their daughters”. 

She had earlier faced flak for labelling Nathuram Godse a “patriot” during the 2019 general elections, a comment that drove PM Modi to say that he would “never forgive” her for such a statement. 

Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray made a polarising speech in 2018 where he remarked about a Muslim cleric who refused to sing the national anthem after unfurling the national flag. Reacting to it, Thackeray asked where his allegiances lay. “What country’s flag would they rather unfurl and sing the national anthem of?”, the Sena leader remarked. 

He also said that it should be made compulsory to sing the national anthem and “patriotism should be incorporated in law”. In September 2023, Thackeray also made a remark about the Ram temple consecration and claimed the BJP could trigger a ‘Godhra-like’ incident. 

An FIR was registered against Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam for his statements against Muslims on April 21, 2014, which were made in the presence of PM Modi at a Mumbai poll rally, where Kadam had asserted that Muslims create “ruckus” in the state, “fight with police” and if elected, Modi would “not rest until such elements are taken care of”. 

In a separate incident in March 2019, former MP CM and BJP member Uma Bharti also sparked controversy through her ‘Go to Pakistan’ remark. While campaigning for the saffron party in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, she reacted to the Opposition’s remark on promoting secularism, saying that “they should go to Pakistan and give the lesson of secularism there”, Bharti further raised the issue of the partition and labelled Pakistanis as “dangerous people”.

However, in other instances, the EC has been swift to act. When Anurag Thakur, BJP’s star campaigner for the Delhi Assembly elections in 2020 and a Union Minister in Modi’s government, infamously said his ‘Desh ke gaddaron ko’ speech, referring to the anti-CAA protestors, while campaigning in Delhi’s Buddh Vihar on January 27, the EC hit him with a notice the day after, which sought a reply from Thakur by January 30. 

On January 30, the Election Commission released an order condemning his statement and also barred him from making any public appearance for 72 hours. Additionally, the saffron party was ordered to remove Thakur from the list of its star campaigners.

2024: ‘400 paar’ - Will India see another Modi sarkar

PM Modi looking at Amit Shah.

PM Modi’s speech, during his bid to cross 400 seats, has already grabbed eyeballs where he claimed Congress would snatch women’s ‘mangalsutras’, calculate their assets, and give them to “people who bear more kids”.

Amit Shah, on May 9, in Telangana, said that the election this time was a contest of “development versus Jihad”. He further claimed that Congress, BRS and AIMIM want to run Telangana as per the “Quran and Shariah”. 

Days later, on May 17, Adityanath, in Bihar, said that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s spirit had entered the Congress and that the party wanted to impose ‘Jizya’ (a tax imposed by Muslim rulers on non-Muslims) to “appease Muslims”.

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, also, in her speech at West Bengal’s Gopiballavpur, on May 17, claimed that BJP was trying to “foment tensions between Adivasis and Kurmis” and was planning to take away tribals’ rights and uproot them from their ancestral lands.

The EC on May 22 – 27 days after the first notice was issued to the BJP and Congress party heads, in a departure from the poll body’s norm – directed the BJP’s star campaigners to desist from making statements that may ‘divide the society’ and not to make speeches on ‘communal, religious lines’. The commission also issued a similar notice to the Congress’ star campaigners and directed them to not make speeches that could create ‘mutual hatred’ or ‘cause tension’ among religious and linguistic communities. 

It is not just polarising speeches, but such videos have come under the EC scanner as well. One such video put out by the BJP Karnataka’s social media handle where CM Siddaramaiah and Rahul Gandhi were shown giving away the rights of backward communities to Muslims. The video was taken down from social media platform X, following an EC order. 

India’s political discourse over the last few years has undoubtedly seen some vitriol, and with increased social media usage, there is an additional problem of polarised political discourse playing out over these platforms. Ghazala Jamil has also claimed in an Economic & Political Weekly article that the online targeting of Muslim women in India showed a right-wing-big tech nexus.  

The country in July 2023, witnessed communal clashes in Haryana’s Nuh, which spread to Gurugram and Sohna. At least seven were killed and 200 injured. In February 2024, a madrasa in Uttarakhand was razed, resulting in another communal clash, where five people died and over 100 police personnel sustained injuries. 

In Karnataka’s Bidar, just on May 29, two were injured in a communal clash between students over the Jai Sriram song being played in a college. On May 28, in VHP warned it would hold a mass recitation of Hanuman Chalisa if instances of offering namaz on the road did not cease in Dakshina Kannada districts. 

Two days after the announcement of the current election schedule, DH reported that an assault on a Bengaluru shopkeeper had taken a communal turn when the victim alleged that it was because he was playing the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’.  

The aforementioned alleged hate speeches and communal clashes cast shadows on India's ideals of democracy. DH spoke to some who also expressed fear for where the 'Mother of Democracy' might be headed.

A 21-year-old Assamese student residing in Bengaluru said, "There are extreme pillars of hate and only hate. Either they lack empathy or selectively show it to one particular community."

Another 30-year-old from Madhya Pradesh working in the IT sector said that the atmosphere that has been created makes people 'think only from a communal angle and not a developmental angle'. "In the last three elections, I have seen communal hatred worked in the background, the front facing agenda were developments and community beneficiary; now the polls have shifted and had reversed its face."

Talking about the 'sense of insecurity' in minority communities, a 63-year-old doctor from Kashmir said, “Being a member of minority community in this country, the atmosphere created by the speeches made by political leaders induces a sense of insecurity and fear in our rank and file and we feel worried about ourselves and our future generations”

The nation now awaits the election results - out on June 4 - that will determine whether there will be another five years of a Modi government or if the grand old party will make a comeback with I.N.D.I.A.

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