Varun Gandhi

Varun Gandhi
File:Gandhi Varun In Pilibhit.jpg
Pilibhit
Constituency	Pilibhit
Personal details
Born	(1980-03-13) 13 March 1980 New Delhi, Delhi
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party File:BJP-flag.svg
Residence	New Delhi

Varun Gandhi (Formally Feroze Varun Gandhi) named (born March 13, 1980) is an Indian politician. He belongs to the Nehru-Gandhi family, the most prominent political family in India.

Early life

He is the only son of the late Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi. Varun Gandhi was 3 months old when his father died and he was 4 years old when his grandmother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her security guards. His great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first Prime Minister of India, and his great-great-grandfather Motilal Nehru was a distinguished leader of the Indian independence movement. He gets his first name Feroze from his grandfather Feroze Gandhi, a parliamentarian and the husband of Indira Gandhi.

He attended the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh, India. Varun studied law and economics at the London School of Economics, and then completed his Masters from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Career

He is currently a member of the BJP National executive and one of the main political campaigners of the party. He is seen by party seniors and political analysts to be the youth face of the party and to be the front runner for the third generation leadership of the party in the future.

He wrote a book of poems titled "The Otherness of Self", illustrated by Anjolie Ela Menon, Manjit Bawa and Manu Parekh. Asked what drew him to poetry, Varun Gandhi, explained: “Because it is so precise and illustrates the strength of language.”

Varun was below 25 years of age during the 2004 General Elections, and hence could not contest. He was seen by many to have risen in the BJP ranks too quickly and this was widely reported to have angered second-rung party bosses. He was reported to have turned down several posts such as the Chief of the National Youth Wing, and the National Secretary and President of the Uttar Pradesh state unit.

His political debut in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh was one of the most awaited debuts in recent times; however in a stunning upset, the BJP denied him the ticket claiming that he was being groomed to take over Uttar Pradesh leadership. He was later offered a ticket from Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, which he refused. Varun is seen by many political analysts as being the obvious choice for the next generation leadership in Uttar Pradesh. His political weight can be ascertained from the fact that his ticket, along with Maneka Gandhi, was announced in the first list of the BJP for the 2009 Indian General Elections which had only ten names.

In January 2008, the media has reported that his mother Maneka will vacate her six-time constituency of Pilibhit for Varun during the 2009 elections, while she will contest from neighboring Anwla . BJP decided to field Varun Gandhi from the Pilibhit Lok sabha seat for general election 2009. .

Election Campaign Controversy

A video emerged allegedly showing Varun Gandhi making communal remarks.

At a meeting in Dalchand on March 6, 2009, he allegedly said (translated from Hindi) "If somebody lifts a hand against Hindus, or thinks they are weak, there is nobody behind them, then I swear on the Bhagavad Gita that I will cut off that hand". At the same rally, he is supposed to have said "All the Hindus stay on this side and send the others to Pakistan. This is the Lotus hand, it will cut their throats after elections." He also made derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi.

Other statements he is seen making in the video are (all translated from Hindi):

"Go to your villages and give the call that all Hindus must unite to save this area from becoming Pakistan…"

"Is it not true... that if (a woman) is asked her name and she says Bimla Devi, she is told we’ll see, we’ll think (about giving Government aid), give us Rs 5,000 first... But if her name is Saira Bano or whatever begum Hukum Begum... I don’t even know... These people have such scary-sounding names... Karimullah, Mazharullah... If you ever encountered them at night, you’d be scared..."

"I have a sister… there was a pamphlet with pictures of all the candidates… so this child told me, ‘I didn’t know that Osama bin Laden is contesting from your area.’ I told her, ‘America couldn’t get Osama, but Varun Gandhi is going to get a lot of people after the elections.’"

"If someone slaps you, what do you do? (They say) turn the other cheek ... I haven’t heard a stupider thing. If someone slaps you, you should cut off (expletive) his hand, so he can never slap anyone later."

An additional CD was submitted to the Election Commission by V M Singh, the Congress candidate from Pilibhit, as part of a complaint against hate speech targetting the Sikh community. It allegedly contains 28 minutes of recorded speech by Varun Gandhi from a rally at the Avas Vikas/Desh Nagar area of the constituency on March 6, 2009. He is heard saying the following: "Lekin ek to paagal Sardar lad raha hai, jiske har samay baara baje hue hai...aur woh ek Musalmaan ka agent ban ke lad raha hai, joh Hindu usko lada rahe hai...woh Hinduo ke sabse bade gaddar hai..." ("There is a mad Sikh contesting... who is contesting as an agent of a Muslim... the Hindus who are backing him are the biggest traitors of Hindus."). Varun Gandhi is allegedly also heard saying that "Hindu armies" would be formed and given arms licenses, procured both "formally and informally".

The Election Commission of India directed the Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh to file a case under Indian Penal Code and Representation of the People Act against Varun Gandhi and issued a notice to him for violation of Model Code of Conduct. The Election Commission had served Varun Gandhi a Show Cause notice asking him to reply by 11 am on 20 March, 2009.

Varun Gandhi denied making these statements and claims his voice has been doctored in the recordings. However, the Election Commission said that there was no reason to believe the CD was doctored.

Varun also claimed he was speaking out against 3 rapes of Hindu women by communal elements in the area. Police records revealed that this was a fabrication.

Varun Gandhi's lawyers submitted a reply to the notice issued by the Election Commission. Apprehending arrest, he filed a writ petition in the Allahabad bench of the Uttar Pradesh High Court seeking to quash the FIR(s) against him and staying his arrest. He also filed an application before the Delhi High Court for Anticipatory Bail in regard with the same matter. The Delhi High Court stayed his (apprehended) arrest till 27 March 2009 on the plea that this matter would come up before the Allahabad High Court by then. Varun, approached the Delhi High Court as the Uttar Pradesh High Court does not have a provision for an anticipatory bail.

Apart from his controversial remarks against the Muslims, Varun was also criticized for asking the 70-year old veteran BJP Sikh leader Gurdial Singh to leave one of the Hindu meets being addressed by him. His remarks left even workers of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shocked. While defending his speech, Varun Gandhi said "I am a Gandhi, a Hindu and an Indian in the equal measure."

On 22 March 2009, the Election Commission found Varun Gandhi guilty and has condemned him in the case related to his 'hate speech' during an election rally in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh. The Election Commission asked the BJP not to nominate him as a candidate for the 2009 General Elections. The Election Commission informed the BJP, since the party disowned the comments made, if party nominated him as a candidate then whatever he mentioned in the 'Hate Speech' would be treated as the party's policies.

BJP president Rajnath Singh has said that the recording is doctored and the BJP will not accept the comission's advice.

See also

• Political Families of The World

External links

• Varun Gandhi On BBC Hard Talk