Tarun Vijay racism row rocks House as Cong corners govt
Oppn forces adjournments, demands FIR against the former BJP MP
Both Houses of Parliament were repeatedly adjourned on Monday following disruptions by Opposition members who demanded strong action against former BJP MP Tarun Vijay for his apparently racist comments at south Indians.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge condemned Vijay’s remarks and demanded a first information report (FIR), saying the party will step up demonstrations both inside and outside the House. “Are south Indians not citizens of India?” he asked, amid loud protests by Congress members.
His (Vijay’s) remarks are a “threat” to the unity of the country and “you want to divide this country”, Kharge said, adding that if such things go on, then states would start asserting for independence.
This “shows your mentality”, he said as he sought to compare Vijay to the likes of Hitler and condemned the remarks. “FIR should be lodged against him (Tarun Vijay). He has talked about breaking the nation. It is anti-national,” Kharge said.
Home minister Rajnath Singh responded, saying there was no need for further action against the BJP leader as he had apologised for the comments. He also pointed out that Vijay was at the forefront of several initiatives highlighting the Tamil cause.
Seeking to soothe the frayed nerves, Singh said: “Bharat is a secular country,” and there would be no discrimination based on caste, colour and religion.
The row began on Friday when Vijay made the controversial comment during a television discussion on racism, in the backdrop of recent attacks on African students in Greater Noida.
“If we were racist, why would we have all the entire south…Tamil, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra…why do we live with them? We have black people around us,” the politician was heard as saying in the video.
Vijay quickly apologised for the remarks and said he meant to highlight India’s composite culture that worshipped the darkskinned god, Krishna.
CONGRESS LEADER MALLIKARJUN KHARGE CALLED TARUN VIJAY’S COMMENT A ‘THREAT’ TO THE UNITY OF INDIA