Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand: A senior BJP leader from Pauri Garhwal district, Lakhpat Bhandari, has been charged by the local police for making inflammatory remarks during a rally. Bhandari, who serves as the vice-president of the BJPs district unit, allegedly threatened to burn down shops belonging to the minority community and gouge their eyes out for allegedly targeting Hindu girls in what he termed as love jihad.Controversial remarks at rallyThe remarks were made at a chetna and chetavni (awareness and warning) rally held in Srinagar town on Thursday, which drew a significant crowd. During his speech, Bhandari accused local authorities of not taking adequate action against perpetrators of love jihad, a term used by some to describe alleged forced conversions through romantic relationships.Taking suo-motu cognisance of Bhandaris statements, the district police charged him under Section 196 (promoting enmity between different communities) and Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). SSP Lokeshwar Singh confirmed that legal action would be pursued against Bhandari. He added that the police consistently take action against any crimes committed against women, regardless of the faith of the perpetrator.Bhandaris defenseDefending his comments, Bhandari claimed that his speech was prompted by a recent incident involving the alleged harassment of a sixth-grade student by a Muslim man. He asserted that this was not an isolated case, pointing to other incidents where men from the minority community allegedly used fake Hindu names on social media to befriend Hindu girls. According to Bhandari, the rally aimed to raise awareness among parents and warn the minority community against such actions.
