By Aliza Noor
“What Ravi Negi is doing is right, if you want to do run a shop, why should you hide your identity?” said Sunil Chauhan who owns a medical store in Mandawli, Patparganj in East Delhi. He said this while a Muslim, a visible one with a skullcap on, sat right across to him. The next moment, he got up and left as Sunil explained why Negi’s tactics against Muslim shops mean “no harm.”
Such is the sentiment Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s councilor Ravinder Singh Negi has tried to establish and spread in Patparganj seat this year. How? By making frequent and concerted efforts demanding Muslim-owned businesses to display their names. Moreover, he asks Hindu street vendors to display ‘bhagwa’ flags to show they’re proud ‘Hindus’ or ‘Sanatani.’
In East Delhi, his actions represent, not a hypothetical, but a palpable reality where livelihoods of Muslims are being jeapordized and radicalisation is being encouraged.
The Quint tracked down some shop-owners who have been at the receiving end of his actions and also met with the man himself, Ravi Negi.
This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here.