Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson and Leader of Minorities, Nazia Elahi Khan, has been booked for making provocative remarks on religious lines in Karnataka’s Belgavi on Sunday, January 19. Nazia delivered a speech at an event titled Batenge to Katenge, which translates to ‘will slaughter if divided’. The slogan has been raked up by Hindutva groups, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and was used extensively during the Maharashtra elections.
The video, widely circulated on social media platform X, purportedly shows Nazia saying, "They [Muslims] don’t even leave their own sisters, and very soon they won’t leave their own mothers either. This is what Islam teaches and the so-called beauty of Islam” she said.
Another statement said, “Hindus need to think before eating sewaiyan (a vermicelli dish served during Eid) at a Muslim's house because, come Bakri-Eid, the same people will slaughter the cow Hindus worship and desecrate temples we pray in.” She further alleged that the Quran instructs the persecution of “Kafirs”(non believers of Islam) and that Masjids teach muslims to do so.
Nazia opposed the caste census, stating that it is an agenda to “divide the Hindu community rather than ensure equality.” She criticised the Congress Party and accused Rahul Gandhi of promoting a divisive ideology. Coming down on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Nazia claimed she has a list of women, including women officers and journalists, who have been harassed by him.
On Monday night, 20 January, Muslim community members staged a protest in front of the Marihal police station condemning the hate speech. The police have registered a case under Sections 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 302 (deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.