Expelled BJP Bikaner minority cell head Usman Ghani, who criticised PM Modi over ‘Muslims’ remarks, detained: Report

The Bikaner Bharatiya Janata Party Minority Morcha district president Usman Ghani, who was expelled on Wednesday for expressing displeasure with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remarks in Rajasthan's Banswara, has been “detained” by the police on Saturday, reported The Indian Express.

Dhirendra Shekhawat, the SHO of Mukta Prasad Nagar police station, claimed that Usman Ghani reached the police station around noon on Saturday after a police vehicle had been sent, as a precautionary measure, to his locality two-three days ago, the day he had made the statement against PM Modi. "He had been in Delhi, and today he came (to the police station) and asked us how dare we send a vehicle to his home,” The Indian Express quoted Dhirendra Shekhawat as saying.

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“We didn’t even know who he was. There was a blockade outside the police station, where he came and tried to tussle with the police. He did drama there, so we locked him up,” the SHO claimed, adding that the action was taken “under CrPC section 151 for breach of peace," Shekhawat told the newspaper.

The SHO added that Usman Ghani will be produced before an additional district magistrate (ADM) and “to maintain the peace”, the police will bound him down for six months.

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Usman Ghani, while talking to News24 recently in New Delhi, had said the BJP was going to lose three-four Lok Sabha seats out of 25 seats in Rajasthan. The expelled BJP leader also condemned Modi's remarks regarding Muslims during election rallies in the state.

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When asked about remarks of Modi on Muslims in Rajasthan's Banswara that triggered a new political row, Usman Ghani said that being a Muslim, he was disappointed at what the prime minister said.

What did Usman Ghani say?

• While talking to a journalist of News24, Usman Ghani claimed that when he “goes to Muslims to seek votes” for the BJP, the community people talk about the kind of remarks made by the prime minister and “look for answers” from him.
• Usman Ghani also claimed that the Jat community is angry with the BJP in Rajasthan and they have voted against the party in Churu and other constituencies.
• He also said he was not afraid that the party would take any action against him for what he was saying.

Action against Usman Ghani

As the video of Usman Ghani surfaced on social media, the BJP state disciplinary committee chairman Onkar Singh Lakhawat said an attempt was made by Usman Ghani to “tarnish” the image of the party in the media, news agency PTI reported.

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“The party took cognizance of the act of Usman Ghani to tarnish its image and expelled him from the primary membership of the party for six years, considering it a breach of discipline,” PTI quoted Lakhawat as saying in a statement.

Bikaner Lok Sabha seat went to polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 on April 19.

PM Modi's rally in Rajasthan's Banswara

Addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Banswara last week, Modi had alleged that if the Congress came to power, it would "redistribute" wealth to Muslims. He alleged that the Congress plans to give the people's hard-earned money and valuables to the “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”.

Modi's remarks have sparked a backlash, with several opposition parties terming it a "hate speech".