Anurag Thakur was greeted with shouts of "goli maaro minister" (File)
BJP Union Minister Anurag Thakur, who made headlines with his "goli maaro" slogan was heavily trolled by opposition members in Rajya Sabha today. As the minister got up to lay some papers before the house, he was greeted with shouts of "goli maaro minister". Some opposition leaders raised slogans of "Goli maarna bandh karo (stop shooting guns)".
The uproar was such that Rajya Sabha chairperson had to suspend the prooceedings.
In the run up to the Delhi assembly elections, Anurag Thakur was seen egging on his supporters to chant the hate slogan "goli maaro s****n ko" at an election campaign.
The slogan roughly translates to "shoot the traitors to the country" -- "traitors" being the word used by a section of party supporters to describe those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
It set the tone for a particularly aggressive campaign, given a vicious edge by frequent hate speeches from a section of BJP leaders.
The opposition alleges that the hate unleashed at the time had contributed greatly to last week's violence in which 48 people died and more than 200 people were injured.
Over the last two days, the opposition demand to discuss the Delhi violence had caused a huge uproar in both houses of parliament. The Speaker, claiming that the government is open to a discussion, has insisted that the time is not right for it. Today, he set a date for it - March 11, the day after Holi.
But the delay has not pleased the opposition, which insists that the violence was not a small issue and should be taken up immediately.
"We favour dialogue, but will it help ease the tensions or worsen them? Talks on such sensitive issues often worsen tensions, it is a fact... We favour discussion, but national interest is above political interest," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.