Skip to main content

Modi 'warned': Will not remain silent when women are labelled terrorists and traitors

Counterview Desk
As many as 13 women's rights organizations and 162 individuals have issued an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that in the light of hate speeches during Delhi elections, especially directed against women, it is his "Constitutional duty to protect all citizens" and tell his partymen "to fight the elections in a manner that upholds the Constitution, not one that increases the fear and insecurity among women."
The letter regrets that they are issuing it in the light of "repeated hate speeches being delivered by election campaigners of the BJP, using fear of rape as a campaign message, and urging their followers to inflict violence on peaceful women protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR)."
Prominent among the signatories are Devaki Jain, Laila Tyabji, Madhu Bhaduri, Navrekha Sharma, Zoya Hasan, Uma Chakravarti, Syeda Hameed, Kamla Bhasin, Farah Naqvi, and Natasha Badhwar.
The letter wonders: "Vote for BJP or you will get raped? Is this your message to Delhi's women? Your party is also exhorting mobs to aim bullets at women and children. Please stop your party from threatening women with violence. Fight the election upholding the dignity of our Constitution."

Text:

Dear Mr Prime Minister:
We speak to you as women of this country, and the women of Delhi – Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Adivasi and Dalit – who are horrified at the atmosphere of violence against women that members of your party have created merely to try and win an election.
  • When Mr Anurag Thakur, a sitting Minister in the central government exhorts a crowd to yell ‘Goli maaron saalon ko’, please remember that in this case the ‘saalon’ is lakhs of peacefully protesting women, sitting in parks and maidans across the city, with young children on their laps. 
  • Another campaigner for your party, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Ajay Singh Bisht aka ‘Yogi Adityanath’ kicked off his campaign in Delhi by saying ‘Boli se nahi to goli’ se maanenge! 
  • When the esteemed Home Minister, Mr Amit Shah asks people to push the EVM button on 8 February with such force “that protesters feel the current”. Is he wishing to electrocute the women? 
Is the BJP now openly endangering the lives of India’s women and children? This is what history will record and India will not forgive, Mr. Prime Minister. For the nation saw the direct result of this violent atmosphere created by members of your party, which inspired ‘Ram Bhakt’ Gopal to open fire at innocent students in Jamia on January 30th, and another terrorist weaponised by the hate being spread by your party, fired at the women of Shaheen Bagh on 1st February.
  • Mr Parvesh Verma, your party MP said, “Lakhs of people gather there (Shaheen Bagh). People of Delhi will have to think and take a decision. They’ll enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters, kill them.” 
What is this kind of communal hate and fear mongering that you, as head of government are encouraging, that seeks to make women of all communities feel more insecure and threatened? Vote for BJP or you will get raped! Is this your election message to Delhi’s women? Is this how low your party has sunk?
Women understand the meaning of rape, Mr. Prime Minister. We have long suffered violence on our bodies, with little access to justice, despite your government’s slogan of Beti Bachao! We condemn this attempt to demean our histories of pain and fear by using it for cheap, divisive electioneering.
We do not fear the Shaheen Baghs of Delhi, Mr Prime Minister. What we fear is a government that directs its security forces to attack peacefully protesting students, women and men. Elected members who openly threaten ordinary citizens. And a police force that stands by and watches as people inspired by this hate-filled rhetoric indulge in acts of violence.
Your government may disagree with the reasons for this nation-wide uprising against the NPR-NRC-CAA. But peaceful protest is our constitutional right. That is all we are doing. Lakhs of Delhi’s women are not just part of this movement, they are leading it. Empowered women are on the frontlines. We will not be silent when women are labelled terrorists and traitors, when all they are doing it fighting to protect and preserve the Constitution of our country.
Mr Prime Minister, you may belong to BJP, but you are the Prime Minister of the country and have a Constitutional obligation to protect the rights of all citizens. When members of your party exhort mobs to use violence and bullets and you remain silent or support them, remember it is you who are responsible.
  • You need to speak out against such targeted violence and hate speech
  • You need to take immediate action,including under all relevant criminal provisions of the penal code, against these violence mongering members of your party.
  • You need to fight the Delhi election in a manner that upholds the dignity of our Constitution and ensures the security of India’s women.
---
Click here to see the names of organisations and individuals that have endorsed the letter to PM

Comments

Anonymous said…
Obviously every rational Muslim know Modi is anti Muslim and show his clear hate against the Muslims community in Indian. That's why we calling on Muslim nation to avoid trade with India.
February 11, 2020
Post a Comment

TRENDING

Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov, the artist who survived Stalin's cultural purges

By Harsh Thakor*  Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov (September 14, 1885 – April 20, 1964) was a Soviet artist, professor, academician, and teacher. His work was posthumously awarded the Lenin Prize, the highest artistic honour of the USSR. His paintings traced the development of socialist realism in the visual arts while retaining qualities drawn from impressionism. Gerasimov reconciled a lyrical approach to nature with the demands of Soviet socialist ideology.
Post a Comment
»

Nepal votes amid regional rivalry: Why New Delhi is watching closely

By Nava Thakuria*  As Nepal holds an early national election on Thursday (5 March 2026), the people of northeast India, along with other regional observers, are watching the proceedings closely. The vote was necessitated after the government of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli collapsed in September 2025 following widespread anti-government protests. The election will determine the composition of the 275-member House of Representatives, originally scheduled for 2027, under the stewardship of an interim government led by former Supreme Court justice Sushila Karki.
Post a Comment
»

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey*   Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.
5 comments
»

'Policy long overdue': Coalition of 29 experts tells JP Nadda to act on SC warning label order

By A Representative   In a significant development for public health, the Supreme Court of India has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to seriously consider implementing mandatory front-of-pack warning labels on pre-packaged food products. The order, passed by a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan on February 10, 2026, comes as the Court expressed dissatisfaction with the regulatory body's progress on the issue.
Post a Comment
»

From non-alignment to strategic partnership: India's ideological shift toward Israel

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  India's historical foreign policy maintained a notable duality: offering sanctuary to persecuted Jewish communities dating back centuries, while simultaneously supporting Palestinian self-determination as an expression of its broader anti-colonial foreign policy commitments. The gradual shift in Indian foreign policy under Hindutva-aligned governance — moving toward a strategic partnership with Israel while reducing substantive engagement with the Palestinian cause — raises legitimate questions about ideological motivation and geopolitical consequence.
Post a Comment
»

Development vs community: New coal politics and old conflicts in Madhya Pradesh

By Deepmala Patel*  The Singrauli region of Madhya Pradesh, often described as “India’s energy capital,” has for decades been a hub of coal mining and thermal power generation. Today, the Dhirouli coal mine project in this district has triggered widespread protests among local communities. In recent years, the project has generated intense controversy, public opposition, and significant legal and social questions. This is not merely a dispute over one mine; it raises a larger question—who pays the price for energy development? Large corporate beneficiaries or the survival of local communities?
Post a Comment
»

Indian ecologist urges United Nations to probe alleged Epstein links within UN ranks

By A Representative   A senior Indian ecologist and long-time United Nations environmental negotiator, Dr. S. Faizi of Thiruvananthapuram, has written to António Guterres, urging the United Nations to launch a high-level investigation into alleged links between certain current and former UN officials and the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein, following disclosures of email communications by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Post a Comment
»

Vaccination vs screening: Policy questions raised on cervical cancer strategy

By A Representative   A public policy expert has written to Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda raising a series of concerns regarding the national Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign launched on February 28 for 14-year-old girls.
Post a Comment
»

Zinaida Portnova: The teenage partisan of the Soviet resistance

By Harsh Thakor*  February 20 marked the birth centenary of Zinaida Portnova, one of the youngest recipients of the Soviet Union’s highest wartime honour. Remembered for her role in the anti-Nazi underground in occupied Belarus during the Second World War, Portnova became a symbol of youth participation in the Soviet resistance.
Post a Comment
»