Click to play videoNew Delhi: As the controversy over Varun Gandhi’s alleged hate speech against the Muslim community builds, reactions are pouring in from all quarters.
While the congress is having a field day with it, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in damage control mode, accusing the Congress of double standards.
Even film personality and activist Javed Akhtar feels that so sympathy must be shown to Varun Gandhi.
"I hang my head in shame that anybody who has even a drop of blood in his veins could speak like that," said Javed Akhtar pointing that Varun was the great grandson of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru who was the symbol of a liberal, secular and modern India.
He also said he hopes the EC will be strict with him.
"It is for the Election Commission to decide and I am sure they will take the right decision," he said.
The Congress, too, is determined to keep the heat on the on Varun at the time when the party is keen to improve its fortunes in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.
"Here is somebody who has clearly violated the cannons of Indian Constitution, who has assaulted Indian secularism which is one of the primary conditions for registration of any political party. If the BJP is serious they should walk the talk, suspend him from the primary membership, they should withdraw him as the candidate," demanded Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari.
But the BJP accuses the Congress of double standards claiming that it too played the communal card with the Sikhs during the 84 riots, and in political advertisements.
"In 1984 the anti-Sikh riots happened and in 1989 do you remember the poster they created. What hate politics are you talking about. ‘Do you trust this person?’ That was the poster," pointed out BJP spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh.
The controversy over Varun’s remarks once again shows that there is need for a stronger law on hate speech.
Meanwhile, RJD and BJP workers clashed in Patna over Varun Gandhi's hate speech on Wednesday.
The RJD workers had gone to the BJP office to burn Varun's effigy and were raising slogans against BJP's prime ministerial candidate, L K Advani. Angry BJP workers then tried to chase them away.
(With inputs from Sagarika Ghose and Susha Soman)
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