In a recent viral video, Member of Legislative Assembly of Bharatiya Janata Party from Uttar Pradesh, Brijbhushan Rajput can be seen harassing a Muslim vendor and threatening him to go away: “Ab dikh nahi jaana mohalle mai,” Rajput can be heard saying.
In the video, which was shot by one of Rajput’s neighbours, the MLA is seen asking the vendor for his name. “Rajkumar,” the vendor replies. The MLA insisted it was not and asked him for the real name. “Sahi bolo nahin to maar maar kay theek kar doonga tumhay (Tell me correctly or I will beat you up),” the MLA was then heard saying.
The legislator then asked a minor accompanying the vendor what his real name was, threatening that the vendor would go to jail otherwise. The boy then blurted that the name was “Ajiz-ur-Rahman”.
Then the MLA exclaimed, “Saala jhooth bol raha thaa Musalmaan hokay (You were lying about being a Muslim).”
As two men in the video asked the vendor why he was lying, the child intervened saying, “Chhod do, ab nahin karengay (Leave us, we will not do it again).”
Even as the vendor and the minor were leaving, the MLA was heard shouting: “Dikh mat jaana yahan mohallay main (Do not be seen in this locality again).”
Rajput later accepted that he had put out the video. He insisted that when asked, the vendor gave a false name. He also argued that there was high incidence of COVID-19 cases amid vegetable sellers in some parts of Kanpur and Lucknow.
