UP deputy CM ends BBC interview when asked about ‘Dharam Sansad’ hate speech

The Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya has quoted a controversy before the assembly elections in UP.

He expressed his anger and abruptly ended an interview with BBC when the correspondent asked to respond about the hate speech delivered by the religious leaders in Haridwar in a Dharam Sansad recently.

The hate speech of religious leaders has been widely criticised by people from all walks of life.

Maurya was talking about the forthcoming election in the Uttar Pradesh and when he was asked that why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi maintained a silence on the hate speech, he tried to defend them.

However, when he was insisted to answer the question, he got upset and stopped the interview midway. He said that he doesn’t want to talk to the reporter on this topic.

He requested the reporter to raise questions only related to the election and also said that had he been aware that he would be asked such questions, he would have made preparations for that. He defended the religious leaders of the Dharam Sansad who made provocative statements and said that they have rights to express their views.

The BBC alleged that Maurya snatched the reporter’s mike and asked him to delete the footage. However, the interview available on BBC and other websites show only that part of the interview where he is abruptly ending it and saying that he would not talk to the reporter further.

The BBC has also said that Maurya has called the whole incident an unfortunate thing.