Fight against intolerance will be balanced when Muslims eat pork in the open: Tripura governor Tathagata Roy

In one of the more controversial and communal statements made in the debate on intolerance in India, Tripura Governor and former president of the Bengal BJP Tathagata Roy has said that the fight against intolerance will only be balanced when Muslims have pork in the open.

“People have the right to eat what they want but the scales would be even when Muslims come out and have pork in the open. And that day, we can really call it war against intolerance,” Roy said in an exclusive interview to The Economic Times .

On being asked what he thought about the emergence of a ‘secular Grand Alliance’ in Bihar, Roy gave a vague answer and said that he does not accept the definition of the word ‘secular’.

Roy is infamous for his communal remarks. He had earlier said that many of the people present at the funeral of Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon after he was hanged were “potential terrorists”.

“Intelligence should keep a tab on all (except relatives and friends) who assembled before Memon’s corpse. Many are potential terrorists,” Roy had tweeted.

Later, Roy, while responding to questions, had said that he had excluded Memon’s relatives and friends. “Why did others come to see a man who was hanged? They must have sympathy for him,” he had said.

In another tweet, the governor had said, “It is my constitutional duty to bring matter of public interests to public notice. My position as governor is not thereby compromised.”

Facing criticism that he appeared to target a particular community, Roy had defended his tweet with another post, “When I suggested intelligence keeping a tab, I mentioned no community.”

Roy had been appointed as Tripura Governor in May. He had previously posted controversial tweets on Gujarat riots, ’love jihad’ and the Hindu population.

When he had spoken to journalists after taking oath as Tripura Governor, he had said he would not allow his personal views to come in the way of discharging his official duties as governor and that he will leave “no room for political affinity”.

Asked about his pro-Hindutva views, he had said, “That was a different person, a political person, I said things which my politics dictated, my beliefs dictated. I don’t regret them. But after becoming Governor, I have constitutional duties.”

Clearly, though, nothing seems to have changed about Tathagata Roy.

With inputs from PTI