BJP MP Parvesh Verma has been accused of making hate speech
The videos of speeches made by two BJP leaders that seemingly targeted Muslims are being examined by the Delhi Police, sources have said.
BJP MP Parvesh Verma, at an event in Delhi last week, called for "total boycott" of a community, while party MLA Nand Kishor Gurjar had complained how "our beautiful city has become a city for pigs".
The speeches are being transcribed for analysis, police sources said, adding they have got a complaint against Mr Verma but no first information report, or FIR, has been filed against him.
An FIR has been filed, however, against the event organisers for allegedly not taking permission to hold the event where the alleged hate speeches were made.
The event was organised by right-wing outfits, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad, or VHP. "Let alone permission, we fixed the venue at Ramlila Ground in Dilshad Garden after suggestion and recommendation by senior police officers," VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
Mr Bansal said they planned to hold the event near the home of Manish, a 19-year-old teen who was stabbed to death by three Muslim men in east Delhi's Sunder Nagri. The police have said he was killed over an old rivalry.
"We planned to hold the gathering near Manish's house but on the request of the police changed it to Ramlila Maidan," Mr Bansal said.
At the public event at north-east Delhi's Dilshad Garden, the BJP MP Parvesh Verma was seen addressing supporters on what should be done to "fix their head and set them straight", seemingly alluding to Muslims. "Wherever you see them, if you want to fix their head, if you want to set them straight, then the only cure is total boycott. Raise your hand if you agree," the BJP MP said, and gestured towards the crowd. All of them raised their hands.
Mr Verma, when asked about his remarks, told The Indian Express that he "did not name any religious community". "What I said was that the families whose members carry out such killings should be boycotted. Such families, if they run any restaurant or business, should be boycotted," he said.
Many on Twitter tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar objecting to Mr Verma's speech. Some even tweeted in support of the BJP leader's controversial comments.