BJP leader's appeal to Muslim voters sparks row in poll-bound MP; Congress seeks action

Alok Sharma, former Bhopal Mayor and Vice President of Madhya Pradesh BJP, has sparked a political controversy with his speech wherein he allegedly appealed to Muslim voters not to exercise their franchise if they do not vote for the saffron party.

Sharma made this alleged remark while addressing a convention of BJP workers at Jaora in Ratlam district.

A purported video has gone viral on social media, in which Sharma could be seen asking the public to turn off their phone cameras before starting his speech.

“I want to appeal to our Muslim brothers of Jaora that if you don't want to vote for the BJP, then don't. But, I request you to not go for voting at all in that case. You must know and whole-heartedly accept the fact that the house you are living in has been granted to you under the Prime Minister's housing scheme. Shivraj Singh Chouhan even built Haj House in MP,” Sharma could be heard saying in the video.

He added, “Chief Ministers like Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath or Motilal Vora never allowed the Haj House to be built, but Shivraj Singh Chouhan did."

Taking strong objection to the alleged remark made by Sharma, state Congress spokesperson Abbas Hafeez accused him of threatening the minority community.

Hafeez has also written to the Minority Commission to draw its attention to Sharma's controversial comment.

In his letter addressed to Iqbal Singh Lalpura, the Chairman of National Commission for Minorities, Hafeez termed Sharma’s remark as highly objectionable and sought action against the BJP leader.

“Alok Sharma’s remark clearly indicates that the BJP is attempting to create fear among the people from the minority community. Therefore, the Minority Commission should initiate action against Sharma,” Hafeez said.

IANS tried to contact Sharma but did not receive any response from the latter till the time of filing of this report.