Campaign

Stop BJP’s ‘Hate Muslims’ campaign for Hindu votes in UP!

• Demand from Chief Election Commissioner: the BJP’s de-registration

• Demand from Union Home Minister & Chief Minister, UP:
  Criminal prosecution of BJP leaders

Dear Friends,

Since yesterday, IBN 7 has been continuously telecasting a detailed expose on how CDs are being distributed by the BJP to gather votes in UP. The contents of the CDs, intended to generate hatred against Muslims in order to gather Hindu votes in the Assembly polls in UP are absolutely shocking to say the least.

 -- Throughout its continuing telecast since yesterday, IBN 7 has repeatedly said the contents of the CD are so vicious that the channel is holding back the audio contents out of fear that it could instigate Hindu-Muslim violence in the country. Therefore, IBN has restricted itself to only showing images of BJP leaders and others who figure in the CDs.

 -- The BJP leadership’s first attempt was to pretend that it had no knowledge of what the CDs contained. But the producer of the programme and the dialogue writer have been shown telling IBN 7 that the CDs were seen and cleared by none less than BJP President, Rajnath Singh and top BJP leader from UP, Lalji Tandon, among others, before their release.  The CDs were released at a formal press conference by Tandon in Lucknow on Tuesday.

 -- The malicious act of the BJP leadership is a Constitutional and criminal offense (inciting hatred against any community). It is also a serious Electoral Offence, under the provisions of the Representation of People’s Act.

-- Caught in its ugly act to collect voted over dead bodies, the BJP has quickly apologized, saying it was withdrawing the cassettes. But is a “sorry” enough to condone what is nothing short of a criminal plot for inciting hatred and mass murder?

 -- The Chief Election Commissioner has reportedly taken very serious note of this attempt to divide the nation simply to reap a rich electoral harvest. But the issue is far too serious for citizens to leave this matter to the Chief Election Commissioner.

 -- We urge all of you to send protest letters, telegrams or e-mails, NOW, demanding as peace loving citizens of this country, the immediate de-registration of the BJP as a political party and disqualification of every BJP candidate from participating in the coming Assembly elections in UP.

 -- We also ask you to write similarly to the Union Home Minister, Mr. Shivraj Patil and the chief minister of UP, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav to ensure that FIRs are registered against top officials of the BJP and criminal prosecutions launched immediately.

Thank you.

Javed Anand           Teesta Setalvad

Suggested course of action:

A. Petition the Chief Election Commissioner:

1. Please send an e-mail to the Chief Election Commissioner NOW, lodging your protest in your own words and demand stringent action against the BJP. ALTERNATIVELY, you are urged to copy and paste the message (Pls see SUGGESTED DRAFT TO CEC below) and email it to the CEC. (email: [email protected])

3. IN ADDITION, Please click http://www.petitiononline.com/bjpcd123/petition.html to sign the Online Petition to the CEC in the same connection. This will help us pursue the matter further.

4. Please e-mail the Union Home Minister, Sri Shiv Raj Patil and UP Chief Minister, Sri Mulayam Singh Yadav, demanding criminal prosecution of the BJP leadership for inciting communal hatred against Indian Muslims. (Pls See SUGGESTED DRAFT TO Union Home Minister/UP CM below)

Home Minister e-mail: [email protected]; fax: 011-23794833

UP Chief MInister: [email protected] Fax: 0522-2239234; 0522-2235733;

SUGGESTED DRAFT FOR PETITION TO CEC: (You can copy and paste the entire text below in blue)

TO: The Chief Election Commissioner, CEC, New Delhi

Dear Sir,

We are absolutely horrified by the shocking attempt of the BJP to launch a hate campaign against Muslims with the intent of gathering Hindu vote in the coming Assembly polls in UP. I/We have gone through the contents of the complaint lodged by Ms. Teesta Setalvad and others with the CEC’s head office in New Delhi this morning on behalf of all peace-loving citizens and are in total agreement with its contents and specific demands.

Sir, we urge stringent and urgent action from your side to squash such a sinister bid to divide India on religious lines.

Yours truly,

Please add your and your organisations’s name

Appended: Citizens complaint filed by Ms. Teesta Setalvad and others

To:  Chief Election Commission

April 5, 2007

Appeal to the Chief Election Commission

Sir,

SUBJECT: Citizens Demand Disqualification of the BJP from UP Elections

The Central Election Commission should disqualify the BJP from the UP elections for committing a Constitutional, Criminal and Electoral Offence.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has revealed its mindset by circulating an official CD, released by the national and state leadership, that contains nothing short of filthy hate driven propaganda against the minorities. The BJP should be disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh elections as this sort of hate driven propaganda is not simply a Constitutional and Criminal offence but an electoral offence.

A supposedly national party owes the electorate some responsibility. Simply ‘withdrawing it’ because it happened to be exposed by a television channel is not enough as with modern technology it can be reproduced and used anyway. In fact the underground fascist network of the RSS is probably using it still since it is the RSS that is guiding the BJP openly today.

Sir as the IBN 7 channel programme at 9 p.m. showed yesterday the producer and director clearly said that the CD had the sanction of the top party leadership. The party’s National President, Rajnath Singh and state chief Lalji Tandon had clearly sanctioned this filth. Simply withdrawing it by calling the CD communal is not enough.

The CD contains credits to former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and former Home Minister LK Advani. In fact Advani’s statements are revealing---claiming that he had not seen it he asked what was wrong about talking about Godhra and Ayodhya???

A full fledged judicial inquiry needs to be ordered into the blatant attempts by the BJP to subvert the Constitution. What the BJP party did through anonymous pamphlets, or those authored by the VHP for two years before the Gujarat genocide in 2002, is today official party propaganda sanctioned by its top leadership. The BJP needs to be held accountable to the Constitution and be disqualified from the elections. Each time in the past despite committing blatantly anti Constitutional criminal acts, it has escaped any censure by Constitutional authorities.

Teesta Setalvad and others

SUGGESTED DRAFT FOR PETITION TO Union Home Minister/UP CM: (You can copy and paste the entire text below in red)

TO: The Union Home Minister/Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

Dear Sir,

SUBJECT: CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OF BJP LEADERS FOR ITS ‘HATE MUSLIMS’ CAMPAIGN IN UP.

We are absolutely horrified by the shocking attempt of the BJP to launch a hate campaign against Muslims with the intent of gathering Hindu vote in the coming Assembly polls in UP. I/We have gone through the contents of the complaint lodged by Ms. Teesta Setalvad and others with the CEC’s head office in New Delhi this morning on behalf of all peace-loving citizens and are in total agreement with its contents and specific demands.

We have already petitioned the Chief Election Commissioner, urging stringent action on his part as per the provisions of the Representation of People’s Act. But the sinister design of the BJP leadership is also a serious criminal offence (inciting hatred against a particular community).

We therefore urge you to take immediate steps for a criminal prosecution of the BJP for its nefarious bid to divide India on religious lines.

Yours truly,

Please add your and your organisations’s name

Appended: Citizens complaint filed by Ms. Teesta Setalvad and others submitted to the CEC

 To:  Chief Election Commission

April 5, 2007

Appeal to the Chief Election Commission

Sir,

Citizens Demand Disqualification of the BJP from UP Elections

The Central Election Commission should disqualify the BJP from the UP elections for committing a Constitutional, Criminal and Electoral Offence.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has revealed its mindset by circulating an official CD, released by the national and state leadership, that contains nothing short of filthy hate driven propaganda against the minorities. The BJP should be disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh elections as this sort of hate driven propaganda is not simply a Constitutional and Criminal offence but an electoral offence.

A supposedly national party owes the electorate some responsibility. Simply ‘withdrawing it’ because it happened to be exposed by a television channel is not enough as with modern technology it can be reproduced and used anyway. In fact the underground fascist network of the RSS is probably using it still since it is the RSS that is guiding the BJP openly today.

Sir as the IBN 7 channel programme at 9 p.m. showed yesterday the producer and director clearly said that the CD had the sanction of the top party leadership. The party’s National President, Rajnath Singh and state chief Lalji Tandon had clearly sanctioned this filth. Simply withdrawing it by calling the CD communal is not enough.

The CD contains credits to former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and former Home Minister LK Advani. In fact Advani’s statements are revealing---claiming that he had not seen it he asked what was wrong about talking about Godhra and Ayodhya???

A full fledged judicial inquiry needs to be ordered into the blatant attempts by the BJP to subvert the Constitution. What the BJP party did through anonymous pamphlets, or those authored by the VHP for two years before the Gujarat genocide in 2002, is today official party propaganda sanctioned by its top leadership. The BJP needs to be held accountable to the Constitution and be disqualified from the elections. Each time in the past despite committing blatantly anti Constitutional criminal acts, it has escaped any censure by Constitutional authorities.

Teesta Setalvad and others

Given below are some phone numbers/e-mails and postal addresses for your ready reference:

Chief Election Commission, Nirvachan Sadan,
Ashoka Road, New Delhi-110001
Tel: 011-23717391 Fax: 011-23713412
[email protected]

 CEO, Uttar Pradesh: [email protected] 

Address: Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shivraj Patil