“ Jis ghar se patthar aaye hain us ghar ko pattharon ka hi dher banayenge (if stones are pelted by anyone, we will turn their houses into rubble),” Narottam Mishra, 62, senior Minister and spokesperson of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh said when communal violence rocked the State earlier this year during Ram Navami celebrations.
Mr. Mishra, whose ministerial portfolios include Home, Jail, Parliamentary Affairs and Law, often issues such warnings during daily media briefings at his official bungalow in Bhopal’s Char Imli area. He also makes jibes at political opponents, scans pop culture to check conformity with religious sentiments, and even advises global terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda to “stay within its limits”.
Recently, the Minister donned the role of a self-styled censor, instructing filmmakers on what they could nor could not depict, as he threatened legal action against the upcoming film Adipurush for its alleged “wrong” depiction of Hindu deities, particularly Lord Hanuman.
