The BJP has claimed that Congressmen shouted “Pakistan Zindabad” inside the Assembly as they celebrated party leader Naseer Hussain’s victory in the Rajya Sabha election. The Congress refuted these allegations, stating that its workers were merely chanting Hussain’s name and not doing as the BJP claimed.
Three of the four Karnataka Rajya Sabha seats were won by the Congress on Tuesday.
Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s IT cell, posted a video of Congressmen rejoicing in Hussain’s victory shortly after the results were declared, claiming that the slogan “Pakistan Zindabad” was being raised.
“Pakistan Zindabad slogans raised after Congress’s Naseer Hussain, political secretary of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, won Rajya Sabha election from Karnataka. Congress’s obsession with Pakistan is dangerous. It is taking India towards balkanisation. We can’t afford it,” Malviya said in a post on X.
The video was shared on social media with the same assertion by numerous other BJP figures, such as Karnataka leader CT Ravi and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Rejecting the BJP’s claim, Congress leader Naseer Hussain said that he only heard slogans such as ‘Naseer Hussain Zindabad,’ ‘Congress party Zindabad,’ ‘Naseer Khan Zindabad,’ and ‘Naseer Saab Zindabad.’
“I didn’t hear whatever was shown in the media. If I had heard that, I would have objected, condemned the statement, and called for necessary action against them,” he said.
Indian Youth Congress National President Srinivas BV, however, denied the BJP’s allegations, stating that party members were indeed heard saying “Naseer Saab Zindabad” in the video.
Srinivas BV accused the BJP of “lying” and claimed that the saffron party was attempting to mix together “Naseer Saab Zindabad” and “Pakistan Zindabad.”
The Bengaluru Police took notice of the situation on their own and opened a case under Section 153, even though BJP leaders had gone to the police on Tuesday night to file a complaint. This section applies to anyone who intentionally or unintentionally provokes someone, knowing that doing so will likely result in rioting.
