‘Sit Down or I Will Rename Mosque After Lord Vishnu’: Sambit Patra to Muslim Man During TV Debate

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra — a man notorious for making communal, hateful and inflammatory statements — baited a spokesperson from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) during a live TV debate show on Friday, November 8. Patra was one of the five panellists of a TV debate show.

Sambit to MIM spokesman “Aye Suno Allah ke bhakt ho to baith jao warna kisi masjid ka naam badal kar bhagwan Vishnu ke naam rakh doonga” pic.twitter.com/agM2ClA8SN — Ravi Ratan (@scribe_it) November 9, 2018

The 24-second clip that has been shared on Twitter showed Patra heckling Sayyed Aasim Vakar of the AIMIM, badgering him constantly to state whether he was a devotee of Allah or Lord Vishnu. “Aye suno, Allah ke bhakt ho ya Bhagwan Vishnu ke bhakt ho. Pehle yeh batao zara (Hey listen, are you a devotee of Allah or Lord Vishnu. First, tell this),” Patra goaded Vakar.

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Vakar responded to this by saying, “Bhakt toh hum Allah ke hi hain. Par hum aapke dharm ki bhi izzat karte hain (I am a devotee of Allah but I also respect your religion).” Patra, however, repeatedly interjected, “Bas toh phir chillao mat. Aap chillao mat aur baith jao. Allah ke bhakt ho toh phir chillao mat aur baith jao (Then, do not shout. Do not shout and sit down. If you are a devotee of Allah, then do not shout and sit down).” He, then, added snidely, “Baith jao chup-chap. Kisi Masjid ka naam rakh doonga Bhagwan Vishnu ke naam pe, phir chillate phiroge (Sit down quietly. I will rename a mosque after Lord Vishnu, and then you will be angrily roaming about).”

Patra’s hateful comments came during a debate that revolved around the recent renaming-spree undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh government. The debate also featured Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari, and historian Professor Makhan Lal.

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