Nupur Sharma, Naveen Jindal punishment riles section of Delhi BJP

BJP leader Kapil Mishra, though, went public with his thoughts, tweeting: “Their country is an Islamic country. Talking about the rights of Muslims, openly talking about economic boycott, removal from jobs… in the name of religion. Hindu is a second class citizen in this world. Only Hindu religion is such that there is no punishment for mocking or abusing it, rather reward is given.”

The BJP suspended Sharma, one of its national spokespersons, from the party’s primary membership for her remarks in a television debate. The BJP’s Delhi unit, meanwhile, expelled Jindal, who heads the party’s media unit in Delhi, for his tweets.

A mandal adhyaksh of Delhi’s Jharoda area, Parveen Chaudhary, wrote on Facebook in Hindi, “I respect all religions, but if people from a religion speak about our god, it’s fine, while if we open our mouth, the party punishes us. If you can’t stand with your karyakarta, then stop using them too. The party has broken the trust of crores of karyakartas. If you will not be with Nupur Sharma, then why will karyakartas fight for you.” Several party cadres expressed agreement with the post.

When contacted, he said that as a karyakarta, he had shown support for another karyakarta.

BJP leader and in-charge of the Yuva Morcha’s state IT cell, Abhishek Dubey, tweeted: “I do not support the insult of any religion because everyone has their faith somewhere. But our Shivji has also been insulted… has any action been taken against anyone?”

“Today when Naveen ji and Nupur ji needed the party’s help the most, they were deserted,” Dubey told The Indian Express.

In a group of the party’s karyakartas, one message read: “(A leader) who said ‘Rum Mein Ram’ became respected (after he joined) BJP, and (party) expelled Nupur Sharma ji. How happy would Ravan have been today.”

However, a BJP leader who is also an office bearer of the state unit said the decision has sent a stern and much-needed message in the party that “one cannot cross the Lakshman Rekha”.

Another senior BJP leader said people holding senior posts in the party are silent because they don’t want to invite similar action. “But such acts can erode a section of our support base that is also most loyal to us,” he said.
A senior BJP leader who is part of the party’s core group said, “It is not right to judge a party by one incident. The same party puts all its effort in saving its karyakarta when injustice is done to them, like Tajinder Bagga’s case recently. But when there’s international pressure, one has to see those aspects too… we are also running the government.”

“We always stand by our karyakartas when they need legal, medical or financial help,” he said. “In fact, we promoted Nupur in television debates which is why she became so popular, and we had also given security to Naveen.”