5 times BJP ministers gave "masala" to the media

The Prime Minister on Sunday reprimanded his party members for making inappropriate and inaccurate statements every time they see a camera. In an address telecast on his personal NaMo application, Narendra Modi told his party motormouths, “We make mistakes and give 'masala' to the media... as if we are great social scientists and experts to analyse issues... the moment you see a camera you start speaking. So this half-baked stuff is picked up."

He also mandated that only designated spokespersons of the party will comment on issues as and when necessary.

This slap on the wrist came a day after Union minister Santosh Ganwar’s controversial statement that “In a nation as big as India, one or two incidents of rape should not be hyped.” This comment was quick to draw criticism and he, in turn, blamed the media for ‘twist(ing)’ his statement.

Here’s a refresher course on some of the other comments made in the recent past by BJP party members that might have nudged the Prime Minister to make the above statement.

1. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb insists Internet existed in the days of Mahabharata. Here’s the statement: "India has been using internet since ages. In Mahabharata, Sanjay was blind but he narrated what was happening in the battlefield to Dhritarashtra anyway. This was due to internet and technology. Satellite also existed during that period."
   A day after this comment was made, the state’s Governor Tathagata Roy backed Biplab Deb’s theory by saying, “Tripura Chief Minister’s observations about the happenings of the Puranic period are topical. It is virtually impossible to conceive of devices like ‘Divya drishti’, Pushpaka Ratha’, etc without some kind of prototype and study thereon”.
2. Junior Education Minister Satyapal Singh rubbishes Darwin’s theory of evolution. Here’s what he had to say: "Darwin's theory (of evolution of humans) is scientifically wrong. It needs to change in school and college curriculum. Ever since humans came to Earth, they have always been humans." He went on to say, "Nobody, including our ancestors, have said or written that they ever saw an ape turning into a human being. No book we have read or the tales told to us by our grandparents had any such mention."
3. BJP leader S Ve Shekher shared a Facebook post titled “Madurai University, Governor and the Virgin Cheeks of a Girl.” This was in response to when the Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit inappropriately patted a woman journalist on the cheek. The rest of the post read: “I feel pity while looking at that woman journalist. She claims she was disturbed because the governor touched her. But when you read her tweets, it is understood that her intention was to target the Governor and Modi. It is actually the governor who has to wash his hands with Phenoyl after touching her. These (TN media persons) are cheap and disgusting creatures. Most people who work in the media in TN are usually Illiterate, cheap and don’t have any general knowledge. This woman is not any different.”
4. BJP MP Vinay Katiyar believes Muslims have "no business" to be in India. Here’s what he had to say: "Muslims should not be staying in India. They divided the country on the basis of their population. There is no need for them to stay in this country. They got a separate land. They should go to Bangladesh or Pakistan. They have no business to be India."
5. BJP youth wing leader tweeted (and then deleted) that he is responsible for the burning down of the Rohingya refugee camp in New Delhi. The fire gutted at least 50 shanties in southeast Delhi’s Sarita Vihar and rendered over 200 refugees homeless. On 15 April 15, Manish Chandela tweeted from his account:
   “Yes, we did it and we do again #ROHINGYA QUIT INDIA.”
   “Well done by our heroes.”
   “Yes we burnt the houses of Rohingya terrorists.”
   
   Screenshots of the tweets were shared with Delhi Police by advocate Prashant Bhushan.
   
   

Note: All these statements were made in 2018.