BJP MP Anurag Thakur Chants 'Goli Maaro' At Delhi Election Rally, EC Seeks Report

On Monday, 27th January, Junior Finance Minister and Member of Parliament, Anurag Thakur shouted: "Desh Ke Gaddaron Ko" at a rally, to which the crowd responded, "Goli Maaro Saalon Ko" (shoot the traitors to the country). Thakur shouted the first half of the slogan with reference to people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act - most notably the women in Shaheen Bagh, Delhi.

Anurag Thakur was addressing a rally in support of Manish Chaudhary, the BJP candidate for the Delhi Assembly elections from Rithala.

The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's office on Monday sought a report from the North West district's election officer in connection with a rally by Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union minister Anurag Thakur where he encouraged the audience to shout a dangerous slogan, PTI reported.

"We have taken cognisance of the incident and have sought a report from the district election officer," a senior official in the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's office said. "However, we have not received any complaint so far."

Election Commission officials told NDTV that a video of the speech has been received and is being examined.

The Returning Officer of the constituency told the news channel that Manish Chaudhary was present on the stage when the slogan was shouted. However, he did not clarify what kind of action would be taken against the minister or the candidate.

Thakur later claimed to The Indian Express that he was merely asking what should be done with traitors to the country.

"It could have evoked a response like 'vote them out' or 'throw them out'. But it was the people who reacted so," he said. "First you should watch the entire video... Then you should see the mood of the people of Delhi," NDTV reported him as saying.

However, even if the 'problematic' part of the slogan was chanted by the audience, the slogan is known for its problematic second-half, so the person calling for a response by just uttering the first half will be more than aware of the response to it.

And it is important to note that Anurag Thakur repeated the slogan several times. In spite of the crowd's inflammatory response, he clapped his hands in cheer, and even shouted into the mic, addressing the assembled mob: "Your voices needed to be heard till the back, Giriraj cannot hear you!"

Also Read: Man Beaten For Raising Anti-CAA Slogans At HM Amit Shah's Rally In Delhi