Indian ministers delivers hate speech against Rohingya refugees, Muslims

Federal minister and far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah made hateful comments about Rohingya refugees during an election rally in Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh. At another event Bemetara, Amit Shah promoted the anti-Muslim conspiracy theory of “love jihad.”

Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma also targeted Rohingya refugees at an event in Bhatapara.

Videos of anti-Muslim hate speech in poll-bound Indian states show several far-right BJP leaders using hate speech, disinformation, divisive language, and anti-Muslim dogwhistling in order to gain more Hindu votes.

BJP leader falsely blames Muslims for India’s pollution, poverty and unemployment 

In far-right BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay delivered  an anti-Muslim hate speech in which he blamed Muslims for all of India’s socio-economic problems, including poverty, unemployment and pollution. 

He went on to say that if a family has three children, the third child should be stripped of the right to vote and the fourth child should be stripped of Indian citizenship. The comment is a dog whistle, playing off the stereotype that Muslims have too many children. 

BJP leaders praise Babri mosque demolition, use Palestine issue to spread anti-Muslim hate 

In Pipalda, Rajasthan, Hindu supremacist monk and BJP leader Yogi Adityanath delivered a communal speech at an election rally while boasting about the violent demolition of the historic Babri Masjid at the hands of Hindu militant mobs in 1992. 

In Jaipur, BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi used Israel’s genocide of Palestinians to spread disinformation about Muslims in poll-bound Rajasthan.