UP deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya’s ‘skull cap’ remark sparks controversy

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has yet again made a controversial statement in which he blamed the poor law and order situation in the state on people in “skull caps who threatened traders”.

Maurya in his speech on Friday pointed out the attire that is usually associated with Muslims, alleging that people who “dressed in lungis and skull caps are goons, who carry guns, encroach upon people’s land, then threaten them not to go to the police.”

“Before the Assembly elections of 2017, how many lungi-clad goons used to roam here? Who in skull caps used to threaten the traders while carrying guns? Who used to encroach upon your land and threaten you to not go to Police? Remember all this,” said Maurya at a ‘Vyapari sammelan’ (Entrepreneurs’ meet) in Prayagraj.

This is the second instance in a week, where Maurya has incited communal unrest. The first instance being, his tweet on Wednesday that indicated plans of building a temple in Mathura.

Maurya on Wednesday stirred the political cauldron saying the party is preparing to build a temple in Mathura, as construction of temples in Ayodhya and Kashi is underway.

“The construction of grand temples is on in Ayodhya and Kashi, and preparations are on for one in Mathura (Ayodhya Kashi bhavya mandir nirmaan jaari hai Mathura kee tyaari hai),” Maurya said in a tweet he posted in Hindi.

The supposed temple site, which is a subject of multiple lawsuits, is located inside an Aurangzeb-era mosque in Mathura and shares its premises with a prominent temple.