Islamophobic Remarks :
In 2014 and 2019, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan served as a Member of Parliament representing the Muzaffarnagar constituency for the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is currently serving in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet as the Minister of State for Fisheries, Dairy, and Animal Husbandry.
One of the principals, Balyan, is charged with encouraging violence against Muslims in September 2013 during the riots in Muzaffarnagar. Despite prohibitory orders and heightened tensions that resulted in at least 62 deaths—mostly Muslims—and 50,000 displaced people, he was a part of a mahapanchayat.
“We will exact our retribution by killing members of the Muslim community wherever we come across them,” he declared to the throng of people brandishing swords and sticks.
A week later, armed Hindu men’s mobs invaded nearby villages, killing about sixty people—mostly Muslims—and forcing tens of thousands more to escape their homes.
Sections 188 (violating prohibitory orders), 353 (assault or criminal force to dissuade a public servant from executing his duty), and 341 (wrongful restraint) were the charges brought against him by the state police. A warrant for Balyan’s arrest was issued in November of 2015. He turned himself in to a Muzzafarnagar court in December 2015 and was granted bail.
Charges against Balyan and other BJP leaders were dropped in March 2021 as a result of the Yogi government’s request to have the cases withdrawn from a local court.
Sources :
https://thewire.in/government/muzaffarnagar-riots-adityanath-withdraw-cases-sanjeev-balyan