Patna, April 20: Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Friday said as part of a sinister political design, attempts are being made to defame Hindus through the Kathua rape-murder case in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking at a function in Bihar's Nawada, his parliamentary constituency, Singh said: "A conspiracy has been hatched to defame Hindus using the Kathua case. Some people with vested political interests are conspiring to divide the country."
Blaming "pseudo secularism" for the conspiracy, the Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises said: "Some people are actively defaming Hindus in the name of secularism."
Singh said earlier an attempt was made to defame Swami Aseemanand by linking him with Hindu terror or "Bhagwa Aatankwad". "Now a fresh attempt is being made to defame Hindus through the Kathua case."
He condemned the Kathua incident and demanded the arrest of the accused.
"But instead of arresting the real culprits, Hindus are being defamed," he alleged and appealed to the youth to be alert to counter the forces opposed to the country.
Singh has constantly courted controversy for his statements. During the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he wanted all "those who want to oppose Narendra Modi" to "go to Pakistan".
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
