Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Anurag Thakur on Sunday ducked questions pertaining to his controversial “shoot the traitors” slogan saying that the matter is sub-judice and media should have full facts.
Refuting that he has ever raised controversial “shoot the traitors” slogan during Delhi Assembly polls, Thakur told media, “You are lying. I think sometimes there is lack of information in the media too regarding the way some things are projected.”
The Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs was addressing a Press conference in Chandigarh after meeting stakeholders from various trades and industries during an interactive session organised by the Income Tax Department.
When asked again about his alleged hate speech, Thakur told the media to limit their questionnaire to his department and said, “The matter is sub-judice. You (media) should have full facts. Half-baked truth is dangerous — be it the propaganda of media or somebody else. I feel that you guys should have complete knowledge.”
“What clarification you want on this? Strict action should be taken against those who are accused of inciting the riots and were involved in riots in Delhi,” he said.
The communal riots in the national Capital have claimed more than 40 lives.
Evading further response on the issue, the Union Minister chose to talk about the country’s economy. “India should move forward. We have taken big steps on the economy and will do so in future too,” he said.
Thakur added, “From Monday, Parliament session will begin, questions are raised there also from economy to various other issues and on that platform (in Parliament), answers will be given on various matters.” “If you have questions on the economy, you should ask those,” he summed up.
Thakur had triggered a row after he raised slogans of “shoot the traitors” at an election rally in Delhi.
Notably, the Delhi High Court had recently expressed anguish over the Delhi Police’s failure to register FIRs against three BJP leaders over their alleged hate speeches in connection with the CAA-related violence and asked the police commissioner to take a “conscious decision” on it.
The Congress has said that it will raise the issue of the communal riots in Delhi during the second part of the budget session of Parliament starting on Monday and demand Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation over alleged police lapses in curbing the violence.