<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Today, while addressing the media, he said, âI am a Gandhi, a Hindu and an Indian in equal measure,â
He went on to add, âI have not made any communal statement...I want the people to stand by me. It is a malicious attempt to brand me communal. There is no question of my having any ill feeling towards (any) community," he said.
"My attempt is to instill confidence in a community which feels it is under siege in their own country."
Sticking to the saffron partyâs roots, the son of late Sanjay Gandhi and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi asserted âI am a proud Hindu...Iâm proud of my faith, not apologetic about it,â
Thousands of people from the Hindu community had been arrested under the National Security Act, temples had been vandalised and village pradhans threatened daily, the scion of the estranged Gandhi family said and claimed his effort was "to restore confidence in the community".
Pilibhit, he said, was a sensitive border area and there was the widespread fear that arms had been smuggled in.
Declaring that India was "a big country with a big heart", he said the CD was supposed to have been based on a speech given on March 4 but released on March 16.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Im-a-vi...how/4280751.cms
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->New Delhi : Under fire from BJP and others for his reported anti-Muslim speeches, an unapologetic Varun Gandhi on Wednesday asserted he was proud of being a Hindu and an Indian and claimed he had not made any communal statement.
Giving no signs of tendering an apology sought by his party, Varun, the 29-year-old BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Pilibhit, said the video footage of his speeches was âdoctoredâ and saw a âpolitical conspiracyâ hatched to malign him.
"I am proud of my faith and not apologetic about it. I am a Gandhi, a Hindu and an Indian in the equal measure," he said.
Acting swiftly, the Election Commission had on Tuesday ordered filing of a criminal case against Varun for his alleged inflammatory speech with communal overtones and served notice to the party seeking its explanation.
"I have been a victim of a political conspiracy. Those are not my words and that is not my voice. I have not made any communal statement," Varun, a scion of the estranged Gandhi family, said.
Varun, son of Maneka Gandhi, said the tape has been doctored and it was a âmalicious attemptâ to brand him communal.
Senior BJP leader Shanawaz Hussain termed Varun's remarks âshockingâ and demanded an unconditional apology from him.
Another BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also assailed Varun's remarks saying they are a manifestation of his family's past Congress culture.
Rattled by the controversy, the BJP asked its party candidates to observe caution and restraint in their speeches.
"We do not subscribe to such views," party spokesperson Siddarth Nath Singh said.
In no mood to relent, Varun said, "I am pro India and not anti-anybody. I want to ask the nation to stand by me."
He went on to add âmy attempt has been to restore confidence in a community that has been under siege in its own country.â
He said the video footage has been âdoctoredâ. It has been a malicious attempt to brand me as communal. There is no question of my having any ill feeling towards any community," he said.
At a recent election meeting in Pilibhit from where he is making his electoral debut, Varun had reportedly said, "this is not a 'Hand' (Congress symbol), it is the power of the 'Lotus' (BJP symbol). It will cut the head of ....... Jai Shri Ram."
He had also said if anyone raises a hand against Hindus and if they thought Hindus were weak and leaderless, he would cut his hand. Gandhi, however, claimed that the video footage of his speeches was tampered with.
Varun also wondered why the CD was made public after a gap of 12 days on March 16 whereas he made the speech on March 5.
In Patna, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar termed Varun's Pilibhit speech as condemnable.
"I have not seen the TV footage (of Varun's speech), but from what I have come to know, his statement hurt the sensibilities of a section of the society. Anything that is said during an election or otherwise that hurts the sentiments of any community is condemnable," Kumar said when his comments was sought on the matter.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story_print...yid=436057
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He went on to add, âI have not made any communal statement...I want the people to stand by me. It is a malicious attempt to brand me communal. There is no question of my having any ill feeling towards (any) community," he said.
"My attempt is to instill confidence in a community which feels it is under siege in their own country."
Sticking to the saffron partyâs roots, the son of late Sanjay Gandhi and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi asserted âI am a proud Hindu...Iâm proud of my faith, not apologetic about it,â
Thousands of people from the Hindu community had been arrested under the National Security Act, temples had been vandalised and village pradhans threatened daily, the scion of the estranged Gandhi family said and claimed his effort was "to restore confidence in the community".
Pilibhit, he said, was a sensitive border area and there was the widespread fear that arms had been smuggled in.
Declaring that India was "a big country with a big heart", he said the CD was supposed to have been based on a speech given on March 4 but released on March 16.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Im-a-vi...how/4280751.cms
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->New Delhi : Under fire from BJP and others for his reported anti-Muslim speeches, an unapologetic Varun Gandhi on Wednesday asserted he was proud of being a Hindu and an Indian and claimed he had not made any communal statement.
Giving no signs of tendering an apology sought by his party, Varun, the 29-year-old BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Pilibhit, said the video footage of his speeches was âdoctoredâ and saw a âpolitical conspiracyâ hatched to malign him.
"I am proud of my faith and not apologetic about it. I am a Gandhi, a Hindu and an Indian in the equal measure," he said.
Acting swiftly, the Election Commission had on Tuesday ordered filing of a criminal case against Varun for his alleged inflammatory speech with communal overtones and served notice to the party seeking its explanation.
"I have been a victim of a political conspiracy. Those are not my words and that is not my voice. I have not made any communal statement," Varun, a scion of the estranged Gandhi family, said.
Varun, son of Maneka Gandhi, said the tape has been doctored and it was a âmalicious attemptâ to brand him communal.
Senior BJP leader Shanawaz Hussain termed Varun's remarks âshockingâ and demanded an unconditional apology from him.
Another BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also assailed Varun's remarks saying they are a manifestation of his family's past Congress culture.
Rattled by the controversy, the BJP asked its party candidates to observe caution and restraint in their speeches.
"We do not subscribe to such views," party spokesperson Siddarth Nath Singh said.
In no mood to relent, Varun said, "I am pro India and not anti-anybody. I want to ask the nation to stand by me."
He went on to add âmy attempt has been to restore confidence in a community that has been under siege in its own country.â
He said the video footage has been âdoctoredâ. It has been a malicious attempt to brand me as communal. There is no question of my having any ill feeling towards any community," he said.
At a recent election meeting in Pilibhit from where he is making his electoral debut, Varun had reportedly said, "this is not a 'Hand' (Congress symbol), it is the power of the 'Lotus' (BJP symbol). It will cut the head of ....... Jai Shri Ram."
He had also said if anyone raises a hand against Hindus and if they thought Hindus were weak and leaderless, he would cut his hand. Gandhi, however, claimed that the video footage of his speeches was tampered with.
Varun also wondered why the CD was made public after a gap of 12 days on March 16 whereas he made the speech on March 5.
In Patna, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar termed Varun's Pilibhit speech as condemnable.
"I have not seen the TV footage (of Varun's speech), but from what I have come to know, his statement hurt the sensibilities of a section of the society. Anything that is said during an election or otherwise that hurts the sentiments of any community is condemnable," Kumar said when his comments was sought on the matter.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story_print...yid=436057
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