Following Madhavi Latha’s controversial shooting-arrow gesture towards a mosque in Hyderabad, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Amravati MP Navneet Rana repeated the similar action while passing through a mosque in Jalgaon, Maharashtra.
A video, which has gone viral on social media platforms, shows Rana during an election rally donning a saffron scarf. Upon reaching near a mosque she is seen making the arrow gesture towards it amid cheers from her supporters. The camera turns to show the mosque.
The video has been shared with a music track with lyrics ‘grab the arms now that the trumpet has blown’.
In another video, Rana is seen holding a placard in the rally which reads “Hindu Rashtra”, an agenda promoted by radical Hindutva outfits that seeks to establish Hindu supremacy and transform India into a Hindu nation.
These incidents have sparked outrage about the use of symbolic gestures and their impact on communal harmony, with many tagging the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking action for violation of the code of conduct.
The 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign rallies have witnessed a series of Islamophobic speeches. From hate speech to proactive gestures, BJP candidates are accused of polarising communities for electoral benefits. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led the charge with incendiary speeches, referring to Muslims as ‘infiltrators’. A recent BJP video, later taken down, claimed that if Congress comes to power, it will take money and wealth from non-Muslims and redistribute it among Muslims.
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