Gautam Gautam criticises assault on Muslim, BJP distances itself

New Delhi: The newly elected member of Lok Sabha from East Delhi, Gautam Gambhir, termed the alleged assault on a Muslim man in Gurgaon as “deplorable” and asked authorities to take “exemplary” action in the matter.

Delhi BJP leaders, however, distanced themselves from Mr Gambhir’s comment and claimed that the comment made on social media by the cricketer-turned-politician may be used against the saffron party by political rivals.

A 25-year-old Muslim man was allegedly slapped by a group of men in Gurgaon on May 25. The victim was reportedly asked to remove his skullcap and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram.’

“In Gurugram, a Muslim man was told to remove skullcap, chant Jai Shri Ram. It is deplorable. Exemplary action needed by Gurugram authorities. We are a secular nation where @Javedakhtarjadu writes “O palan-hare, nirgun aur nyare,” & @RakeyshOmMehra gave us d song “Arziyan” in Delhi 6,” Mr Gambhir tweeted.

A section of Delhi BJP leaders, meanwhile, expressed their reservation over the tweet and said Mr Gambhir’s words may be used against the party.

“Mr Gambhir is no longer a cricketer and he should realise that his words and actions will be seen through the prism of politics. Nobody likes such incidents but what is the use of commenting on an incident in Haryana which may be used against BJP by other parties,” said a senior Delhi BJP functionary.

Mr Gambhir said that his secularism emanated from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s philosophy of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and added that any oppression based on caste or religion is deplorable.

“My thoughts on secularism emanate from honourable PM Mr Modi’s mantra ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.’ I am not limiting myself to Gurugram incident alone; any oppression based on caste/religion is deplorable. Tolerance &inclusive growth is what the idea of India is based on,” he said in another tweet.

The Muslim man, identified as Mohamad Baker Alam, alleged in his complaint that four unidentified youths accosted him and objected to his wearing the skullcap.

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