Shoaib Jamai, Delhi state president of AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen) party, stirring up a new controversy, appealed to Muslim traders to boycott apples from Himachal Pradesh. In a post written on social media, he appealed to Muslim businessmen for economic boycott. After his post, BJP also gave a sharp reaction and said that apple growers are not afraid of his threats.
Jamai wrote on social media platform ‘X’, ‘Enough is enough, now we should start economic boycott. I appeal to Muslim traders, who constitute around 80 per cent, to boycott Himachal apples. For God’s sake, don’t buy anything from this market of hatred.
Jamai said, ‘We will not buy any goods from them during winter days, Insha Allah and the secular society of the entire country will have to come forward to defeat this hatred.’ Also in his post, he appealed to the government to see the Aadhar cards of all Himachalis coming to Delhi from Himachal Pradesh. However, later after realizing his mistake, Jamai deleted his post.
Jamai is the same leader who had created a controversy last month by making a video from Shimla’s controversial Sanjauli Masjid and had said that he would file a PIL asking why other nearby buildings with more than four storeys were not considered illegal.
Responding to Jamai’s appeal, BJP’s Himachal unit spokesperson Chetan Bragta said in a statement that apple growers are not afraid of his threats and his appeal to a particular community not to buy Himachal apples is unfortunate.
Bragta said that apple farming is the ancestral profession of Himachalis and they are capable of running it, managing it and creating their own market. Bragta urged Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu to take cognizance of Jamai’s statements and initiate legal action against him.
Deleted post after realizing mistake
However, Jamai, who was facing criticism after the boycott appeal, later deleted his post after realizing his mistake. He later expressed regret in another post, saying he had been overcome with emotion. He wrote, ‘No hatred for any community. no way. I always believe in the secular fabric of the society. The whole of India is one. love all. The previous tweet was misinterpreted.
Jamai said that he had met some Muslim businessmen there in connection with the legal process to save the Sanjauli Masjid from demolition and when they were feeling alone, I wanted to raise their voice. He also said that he was grateful to the secular Hindu community in Shimla for supporting us. Some hope has arisen.
