'You’re lying': Anurag Thakur denies raising ‘goli maaro’ slogan

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday (March 1) tried to evade questions about his alleged hate speech and even accused reporters of lying for attributing the speech to him. He asked reporters what he had said, and on being told so, he replied, “You’re lying”.

#WATCH Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur, when reporters say he raised 'desh ke ghaddaron ko…' slogan during Delhi elections: You are lying. You people should first enhance your knowledge. Half knowledge is dangerous.Matter is sub judice so I'm not commenting further pic.twitter.com/tWPxnRuIVp

— ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2020

Thakur was addressing a press conference in Chandigarh after meeting with stakeholders from various trades and industries during an interactive session organised by the Income Tax department.

Reporters at the press conference showered him with questions about the hate speeches allegedly made by him and other BJP leaders in the run-up to the Delhi elections, which the union minister tried to evade saying, “If you have questions on the economy, you should ask those.”

When journalists mentioned the wordings of the alleged hate speech, the BJP leader shot back, “You are lying”.

Declining any further comment on the matter, the BJP leader said, “The matter is sub-judice. You (media) should have full facts (about his alleged hate speech). Half-baked information can be dangerous.”

The issue pertains to the incident when a video purportedly showed Thakur, minister of state for finance in the union cabinet, egging on a crowd to chant ‘shoot the traitors’ slogan at an election rally in Delhi. The Election Commission had imposed a campaigning ban on him following the incident.

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Evading further response on the issue, the Union minister chose to talk about the country’s economy. “India should move forward. We have taken big steps on the economy and will do so in future too,” he said.

“From Monday, parliament session will begin, questions are raised there also from economy to various other issues and on that platform (in parliament), answers will be given on various matters,” he added.

On the Delhi violence, he said strict action should be taken against those involved in the communal riots in the national capital which claimed at least 45 lives.

“Strict action should be taken against those involved in (Delhi) the riots. The strength of our country is that people of various faiths coexist and live unitedly contributing towards nation building,” Thakur said. Further commenting on the communal riots, he said, “Police is doing its job….”

Asked again about his alleged hate speech, Thakur said, “I think sometimes there is lack of information in the media too regarding the way some things are projected.”

(With inputs from agencies)

Related news: Six detained for ‘goli maaro’ slogans at busy metro station in Delhi