'Wrap them in pigskin': Tathagata Roy's tweet on Pathankot terrorists reeks of brazen communalism

Tripura governor and former president of the Bengal BJP Tathagata Roy, notorious for making communal statements, has sparked controversy yet again. In the wake of the Pathankot terror attack, Roy on Monday suggested on Twitter that the bodies of the terrorists killed in the attack be wrapped in pigskin. He also said that the bodies should be buried face down in pig excreta.

Roy’s tweet was clearly a twisted and sinister suggestion to discourage Islamic terrorism by making an example of the terrorists killed in the attack. However, the Tripura governor should have considered the dangerous possibility that such contemptuous statements would be met with even greater contempt. In other words, instead of becoming a deterrence for terrorism, Roy’s small hate speech on Twitter could actually encourage more terrorism as a reaction. But an even more important point is the brazen communalism behind the tweet. If the Tripura governor really thinks that bodies being buried face down in excreta (of any animal) should be something acceptable in a civilised society, what is really the difference between us and terrorists? Moreover, Roy has been openly expressing his contempt for the Muslim community for quite a long time now. In November last year, Roy, in an exclusive interview to The Economic Times, had said, “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.” On being asked what he thought about the emergence of a ‘secular Grand Alliance’ in Bihar, Roy had given a vague answer and had said that he does not accept the definition of the word ‘secular’. In July, Roy had suggested that many people present at the funeral of Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon were “potential terrorists”.

Intelligence shd keep a tab on all (expt relatives & close friends) who assembled bfr Yakub Memon's corpse. Many are potential terrorists

— Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) July 31, 2015

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In April 2015, the Tripura Governor had said that if Hindus of West Bengal did not reject secularism and polarise, they would be “annihilated”.

Hindus of West Bengal: either chuck yr 'secular','politically correct' values and polarise. Or prepare to be either annihilated or converted

— Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) April 23, 2015

And back in August 2014, Roy had congratulated UP BJP for bringing up the infamous ‘Love Jihad’ issue and had even suggested that the issue be taken up in West Bengal.

Congrats UP BJP fr bringing issue of Love Jihad to the fore. We in West Bengal must perhaps do the same to save hapless gullible Hindu girls

— Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) August 24, 2014

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It is a scary fact that a person who has consistently been making communal, provocative and caustic statements, and that too openly on social media, continues to hold the honourable post of Governor of a state. In fact, a Kolkata-based rights group had written to President Pranab Mukherjee in August 2015, seeking the removal of the Tripura Governor over his tweets on Yakub Memon’s funeral. Calling Roy’s tweet as tantamount to spreading communalism, the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), in a letter to Mukherjee, had said the Tripura governor must be sacked to maintain communal harmony. Of course, Roy is still Tripura governor. And he still continues to openly make communal remarks. With agency inputs