Gandhi family scion denies "hate speech" against Muslims

Mar 18, 2009, 9:33 GMT

   New Delhi - Varun Gandhi, the grandson of the late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, said Wednesday that a video showing him making a 'hate speech' against Muslims was 'doctored' and a 'political conspiracy' had been hatched to malign him.

   Varun Gandhi, a candidate in the constituency of Pilibhit in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming parliamentary elections for the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party, is facing a criminal case for the alleged inflammatory remarks during a political rally in the region early this month.

   The criminal charges were filed Tuesday on the orders of India's Election Commission.

   'I am a victim of a political conspiracy,' the 29-year-old politician told reporters at a press conference in New Delhi. 'Those are not my words, and that is not my voice. I have not made any communal statement.'

   'It [the video] has been doctored. It is a malicious attempt to brand me as communal,' he said adding, 'There is no question of my having any ill feeling towards [any] community. India is the home to all faiths and beliefs, and I respect this.'

   Varun Gandhi said there had been a spate of communal incidents recently in the Pilibhit region.

   Thousands of Hindus have been arrested, temples had been vandalized and village headmen threatened daily. 'My attempt is to instil confidence in a community which feels it is under siege in their own country,' he said.

   According to the NDTV network, Varun Gandhi made the anti-Muslim remarks at a rally in Pilibhit on March 5, saying, 'All Hindus stay on this side and send the others to Pakistan.'

   During pro-Hindu speeches, he also threatened to cut off the hands of those who raise a 'hand against Hindus.'

   The comments shocked the Indian political establishment as the candidate is the great-grandson of Indian statesman and first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who shaped the secular ideals of the Indian nation.

   Leaders from the ruling Congress party - headed by Sonia Gandhi, widow of Indira Gandhi's eldest son, Rajiv - have called for his arrest.

   Varun Ghandhi is the son of Indira Ghandi's second son, Sanjay Gandhi. His mother, Maneka, was estranged from the Nehru-Gandhi family after her husband died in an air crash.

   The BJP has distanced itself from the remarks and said it would take action if the charges are proved.