On the intervening night of February 26 and 27, women associated with the Hindu Raksha Dal (HRD) spray-painted communal slogans on a crash barrier along the Delhi\u2013Dehradun National Highway in Uttar Pradesh. The graffiti read \u201c\u092e\u0941\u0938\u0932\u092e\u093e\u0928 \u0915\u0947 \u0932\u093f\u090f \u0930\u094b\u0921 \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u0939\u0948\u201d (\u201cThis road is not for Muslims\u201d) in Hindi and \u201cThis Road Not Allow Muslim\u201d in English.<\/p>\n
A couple of days after the video sparked widespread outrage, the women vociferously defended their act in an interview with a BBC journalist and asserted that this country was theirs and they could do anything they wanted; Muslims were tenants in India and they should live like that, they stated.<\/p>\n
[vimeo https:\/\/vimeo.com\/1169446457]<\/p>\n
Two women \u2014 one dressed in green, the other in beige with an orange scarf \u2014 were seen spray-painting, while a man in white appeared briefly towards the end of the clip. A red Swift Dzire bearing a Uttarakhand number plate was also visible. As the video was recorded, a woman could be heard chanting ‘Jai Sri Ram’ in the background.<\/p>\n
Hindu Raksha Dal chief Pinky Chaudhary shared<\/a> the video, claiming the message was directed at \u201cjihadis\u201d and asserting, without evidence, that only Hindus pay taxes in India. \u201cWhat the workers of the Hindu Raksha Dal wrote on the national highway was correct because the roads are built only from the taxes of Hindus. These \u2018jihadi\u2019 people do not pay taxes, so they have no right to use the national highway. Muslims will not be allowed to travel on the national highway,\u201d he wrote in an Instagram caption.<\/p>\n Doubling down, Chaudhary reiterated the claims in a video statement laced with communal rhetoric. \u201cPeople should know what percentage of Muslims live in India and how much tax they pay. The government should be concerned that these \u2018jihadis\u2019 are enjoying the benefits of our taxes. Donations from temples go to the government, but how much comes from mosques and madrasas? Money flows from temples, but the benefits are taken by these jihadis. We will not tolerate this. Muslims should be denied government benefits. We pay taxes. Governments are formed by Hindu votes, yet all the benefits go to Muslims,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In #UttarPradesh<\/a>‘s #Ghaziabad<\/a>, a message reading \u201cRoad Not for Muslims\u201d was allegedly painted on a National Highway by members of the Hindu Raksha Dal (HRD), triggering controversy.<\/p>\n HRD president #PinkyChaudhary<\/a>, in a statement, claimed that those he referred to as \u201cjihadis\u201d do\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/1z5kxsebqq<\/a><\/p>\n\n