Everyone Who Wears Saffron Isn’t a Part of BJP & RSS: Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari tells The Quint that the govt condemns hate crimes and a strict investigation should be conducted.

‘Hate crimes should not be tolerated’

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari seemed angry at those who commit crimes wearing saffron, as he talked to The Quint’s Editorial Director Sanjay Pugalia. He says that as soon as a person or groups are involved in hate crimes, people start blaming the BJP and the RSS. He said that such issues are condemned by the government and shouldn’t be tolerated either.

Gadkari discusses several topics relating to the BJP, RSS, hate crimes and more on The Quint’s Rajpath.

We all know that you are a committed RSS worker. There have been public discussions on some disturbing incidents over which the top leadership has been silent. We dismiss these incidents as minor. Incidents such as an unemployed Kashmiri man who was beaten up in Lucknow, cases of love-Jihad, anti-Romeo squad, to a man being killed for eating beef – perpetrators have even made selfie videos about such crimes. This is an organised crime. It’s a syndicate. These people are trying to make their careers this way. Instead of strongly reacting against such elements, there is a strange silence from the state.

Shouldn’t something be done about this?

First of all, I do not agree with you. These incidents are tragic and it is our government’s policy to take strong action against those who do this. Therefore, it is out of question that there is any support for such incidents. But, I have a question for you. Are these perpetrators in any way associated with the BJP or RSS? I would like to ask these questions to some sections of the media. Why do you hold us responsible for all this?

Anybody wearing saffron clothes who comes and talks nonsense on TV, you attribute that to us and hold us responsible. In reality, neither RSS nor BJP has anything to do with such a person. All of us condemn such incidents. ‘Kashmir ho ya Guwahati, apna des apni maati’ (From Kashmir to Guwahati, it’s our country, our own soil.) And this is what we have always said.

So, I’d like to ask you a question – have such incidents never happened in the last 60-70 years when there was Congress rule in the country? It’s a tragedy of society, and there’s no point condoning it. But these incidents are not new. They have been happening for the past many years. But billing such things in BJP and RSS’ name is wrong. Branding us with ‘casteism’ and ‘communalism’, and then going about saying that certain groups are unsafe in our rule, is actually running a political agenda against us.

Are you not giving too much credit to the Opposition and the media for conspiring against you. Do you think they are capable of all this?

They are. When I was BJP’s president, and if I used to see someone on TV wearing saffron clothes, I used to wonder, ‘Who is this woman in saffron? We don’t know her’. Your people keep looking for such people who talk nonsense. You get them to wear saffron clothes, and they talk rubbish for hours on TV.

As you said, this needs to be condemned as moral leadership comes from that.

I am telling you officially. These events should not be allowed. The government has the policy to conduct a strict investigation into those who indulge in such acts. No one will be sympathised with. And the third thing is, such events have no relation whatsoever with the BJP and RSS. We condemn such acts.

Watch the full interview here: