It was yesterday that Pakistan’s Punjab Province minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan was sacked over his anti-Hindu remarks.
However, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was quick to take notice of such chauvinism, and directed chief minister of Punjab province Usman Buzdar to remove him immediately, stated the party sources.
The official Twitter account of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf tweeted, “PTI Punjab government has removed Fayyaz Chohan from the post of Punjab Information Minister following derogatory remarks about the Hindu community”.
PTI Punjab government has removed Fayyaz Chohan from the post of Punjab Information Minister following derogatory remarks about the Hindu community. Bashing someone’s faith should not b a part of any narrative.Tolerance is the first & foremost pillar on which #Pakistan was built. pic.twitter.com/uKJiReWc26
— PTI (@PTIofficial) March 5, 2019
It further stated, “Bashing someone’s faith should not be a part of any narrative. Tolerance is the first & foremost pillar on which #Pakistan was built.”
A spokesman for the Punjab chief minister stated that Chohan submitted his resignation, which was immediately accepted.
Later, according to a senior government official, the chief minister had “forgiven” Chohan after he apologised in public for his remarks, but the prime minister directed Buzdar to immediately remove him from the ministry.
Earlier in the day, Chohan apologised for his remarks following intense criticism. He said, “I was addressing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian armed forces and their media not the Hindu community in Pakistan.” He further said, “I apologise if my remarks hurt the Hindu community in Pakistan,” Chohan said. “My remarks were in no way directed at Pakistan’s Hindu community.”
While his remarks attracted much of grave criticism from the minority community and senior party leaders for not watching his remarks and exhibiting insensitivity to the said community, could we in India, say with inflated chests that our political leaders irrespective of the political parties they represent, have not been guilty of putting on display the same kind of approach?
Sample this:
On 19th February Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roy asked for a straight boycott of Kashmir in the wake of the Pulwama attack on his twitter handle.
He tweeted, “An appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army: Don’t visit Kashmir, don’t go to Amarnath for the next 2 years. Don’t buy articles from Kashmir emporia or Kashmiri tradesman who come every winter. Boycott everything Kashmiri. I am inclined to agree.”
An appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army: Don’t visit Kashmir,don’t go to Amarnath for the next 2 years. Don’t buy articles from Kashmir emporia or Kashmiri tradesman who come every winter. Boycott everything Kashmiri.
I am inclined to agree— Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) February 19, 2019
For a person who holds a stature of the governor of a state, Roy’s comments do not just pose to be insensitive but come at a time when particularly the students in Kashmiris are being victimized, and only seem to invoke people against Kashmiris. Worse still, his statements are also flagrant of constitutional principles which he, as governor, is obligated to maintain.
And the array of scathing anti-minority remarks just does not stop at Roy’s statements.
We also have controversy’s favourite child Minister of State for Skill Development.
Turns out, he was an accused in a hate speech case, under Section 295 A of the IPC, for reportedly making seditious statements about Islam at a press conference in Sirsi town on February 28, 2016. Responding to a question on a number of Muslim youths from Bhatkal town in his constituency being arrested on terrorism charges, Hegde was alleged to have said, “As long as there is Islam in this world, there will be terrorism. Until we eradicate Islam from the world, we will not be able to eliminate terrorism from the world.” He also allegedly called Islam a “ticking bomb”. Result, nothing good came out of the FIR that was registered against him.
And then amidst all of this, how could someone like Sakshi Maharaj let himself abstain and desist from making such communal comments.
In fact, the BJP MP felt that the problem of the surging population needed his instantaneous attention so that he could cash on the opportunity right ahead of the elections where the polling dates had been already announced by the Election Commission. This was in January 2017. He said, “The population rise is not because of Hindus. The population has risen due to those who support the concept of four wives and 40 children.”
He was later booked in Meerut under section 298 of IPC besides other provisions of law for hurting religious sentiments of Muslims and violation of model code of conduct. But then, as is usually the case, one does not know as to what further action was taken in this regard.
With all this blatant exhibition of hatred and antagonism for the minorities in a secular nation like ours, how is it that not one of these was told to resign? What has been done as a corrective measure to ensure that a line is drawn to such seditious statements? With Pakistan bringing in such welcome changes into its governance, it is high time the ruling dispensations follow our neighbouring country’s example and start bringing such remedial into action to curb such anti-minority remarks.
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