New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from East Delhi’s Vishwas Nagar OP Sharma kicked up a row on Monday when he referred to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Amanatullah Khan as a “terrorist”.
The incident took place during a discussion on bureaucracy when Sharma said to the AAP government, “You say we are protecting bureaucrats, but that is not the case. If an officer does something wrong, usko thokne mein hum aapse aage hain (We know better than you how to fix errant officers).”
When Khan, AAP’s Okhla MLA, stood up in the assembly to object to Sharma’s choice of words, the BJP MLA hit back saying, “If you do something wrong, you will also go to jail like terrorists. Why are you talking nonsense? Why are you talking like terrorists? Talk like a man, not like a terrorist. Why are you behaving like a terrorist? Behave like a man. Don’t mess with me! Don’t be a Fanney Khan! Sit down and behave like a man!”
The comments by the BJP lawmaker elicited angry responses from AAP members, who demanded an apology.
Responding to Sharma’s diatribe against him, Khan said: “I simply asked the BJP MLA to not use bad words about IAS officers. When I objected, he continued speaking and called me a terrorist. He called me a terrorist eight times.
“I believe this is the BJP’s ideology. They think all Muslims are terrorists. They only want to spread hatred and do their politics. They want to vitiate the atmosphere of the country. This is not just his (Sharma’s) mindset, it is the ideology of his party.”
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia also lashed out at Sharma as the assembly Speaker referred the matter to the privileges committee.
Sisodia said, “It is unfortunate that a party that wants to paint all Muslims as terrorists is running the country. We will not tolerate anyone who tries to prove that a person with the name Khan is a terrorist. We will not tolerate this.”
Kejriwal tweeted, “Look at BJP’s MLA — shameful. BJP wants to divide India into Hindu and Muslim. That is also what Pakistan wants. BJP is fulfilling Pakistan’s agenda. Why did Modiji go to Pakistan to meet Nawaz Sharif? Why was the ISI called to investigate Pathankot? What secret relationship does BJP have with Pakistan?”
Sharma, who stormed out of the House after the controversy, said he stood by his statement as Khan was "behaving like a goon".
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