By IANS,
New Delhi : Rights groups Monday wrote an open letter to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to ensure that Varun Gandhi does not get nominated as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate after his alleged “hate speech”.
The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and SAHMAT (Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust), in an open letter, said: “The various allies who constitute the NDA coalition and who believe in constitutional governance to not only condemn outright, the communal hate-ridden speeches of Varun Gandhi… but to ensure that the BJP does not nominate him as a candidate for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.”
The letter has been sent to Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal- United, Indian National Lok Dal’s Om Prakash Chautala, Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Ajit Singh and the Asom Gana Parishad.
“The allies of the NDA… need to make their position clear on Varun Gandhi’s speech and his possible prospective nomination as a Lok Sabha candidate from Pilibhit,” the letter said.
The letter also draws attention to “similar offences” by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.
CJP is a Mumbai-based citizen’s forum whose members include Alyque Padamsee, Javed Akhtar, Rahul Bose, and several other Bollywood celebrities and social workers devoted to rehabilitation of victims of mass crimes. SAHMAT is a Delhi-based trust supporting art and culture.