Former SP leader Naresh Agarwal, who joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today, has been someone known for his controversial statements. Moreover, he has been someone, who has courted controversies around issues that have been held to be of high importance for BJP. Some of the top controversies of Agarwal include his comments around Hindu gods, questioning the calibre of Indian security forces, calling Kulbhushan Jadhav a terrorist and most recently, making a controversial comment against PM Modi. Here’s a look at some of the top controversies of Naresh Agarwal:
1) Linking Hindu gods to Alcohol: In July, 2017, Agarwal made a controversial comment around Hindu gods by linking their names with different types of alcohol. His comments was expunged from Rajya Sabha records. At that time, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had slammed Agarwal, saying he would’ve been booked in a case if he had made such comment outside Parliament. “Do you have the audacity of repeating this in relation to any other religious denomination? Would you do this?” Jaitley had said.
2) Controversial comments after attack on a Kashmir hospital: Agarwal made news for his comment after an attack on a hospital in Jammu & Kashmir. “I don’t understand why the government is silent. People are dying but the government is silent,” Agarwal had said. “If just terrorists are doing this, imagine what will happen when Pakistan Army comes. The country should take tough decisions,” Agarwal was quoted as saying by ANI.
3) Calling Kulbhushan Jadhav a terrorist: In December 2017, Agarwal had kicked up a row when he said Kulbhushan Jadhav has been declared a terrorist by Pakistan, and therefore, the country will treat him like one. However, he issued a clarification later.
“If Pakistan has declared Kulbhushan Jadhav as a terrorist in their country, then they will treat him like one (terrorist). In our country also, we should treat terrorists in the similar manner. Terrorists should be dealt with strictly,” Agarwal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
4) Casteist comments on PM Modi: At an event in Lucknow, Agarwal had remarked about PM Modi’s caste, drawing severe criticism from the BJP. “Tell them to make laws in favour of the community… Amit Shah is from our community, but Modi is a (word skipped),” Agarwal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
