At Ferozpur Jhirka, pyaaz phod denge threat is election anthem

Tribune News Service

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Gurugram, August 22

‘Pyaaz phod denge’ — the Mewati metaphor used by Ferozpur Jhirka MLA and Congress leader Mamman Khan in the Vidhan Sabha, which reportedly triggered tension between Meos and cow vigilantes and led to Nuh riots — has become his election anthem now. Loosely meaning ‘setting someone right’, the phrase was used by Khan as a warning to cow vigilante Monu Manesar, daring him to enter Mewat.

Metaphor that led to nuh riots

‘Pyaaz phod denge’, the Mewati metaphor used by Ferozpur Jhirka MLA and Congress leader Mamman Khan in the Vidhan Sabha, reportedly triggered tension between Meos and cow vigilantes and led to Nuh riots.

Crying for support, literally 

• Many leaders in Nuh are resorting to ‘crying’ as their poll strategy. Nasim Khan, a BJP leader and ticket aspirant from Ferozpur Jhirka, shed tears at a rally, saying he knew what people had gone through and he himself was pained.
• A former MLA, Rahisa Khan, who has been criticised for his silence on Nuh riots, also held a public meeting and cried, asking people to forgive him and give him a chance.

Manesar, along with his vigilante group, was accused of harassing Meos in the name of ‘gau raksha’ and Khan had raised the issue in the Vidhan Sabha. After it went viral, vigilantes accused him of instigating the 2023 Nuh riots. Khan is currently booked under the UAPA in connection with the riots.

While Nuh has moved on and is gearing up for the forthcoming Assembly elections, the phrase has gone viral as a pre-election anthem, especially in Khan’s segment Ferozpur Jhirka. Composed and uploaded on YouTube by a local singer, Mubarik, the song celebrates Khan as a courageous Mewati and the man of the future. The song is played in all his public meetings.

“I have always stood for Mewat and its people and was witch-hunted for it. I don’t know who composed the song but people here love me. Though candidates are yet to be decided, people are coming to me in huge numbers, asking me to contest,” he told The Tribune.

While the viral song is doing wonders for Khan, many leaders in Nuh are resorting to ‘crying’ as their poll strategy. Nasim Khan, a BJP leader and ticket aspirant from Ferozpur Jhirka, shed tears at a public rally, saying he knew what people went through and he himself was pained.

“You are mine, and I am yours. It’s in front of you only that I can voice my pain and shed tears,” he said.

A former MLA, Rahisa Khan, who has been criticised for his silence on Nuh riots, also held a public meeting and cried, asking people to forgive him and give him a chance.

Two booked for posting threatening video

Meanwhile, the Nuh police have booked two persons for allegedly posting a threatening video on social media. Two reported supporters of Mamman Khan issued a threat to gun down all those who did not vote for him. Believed to be from Jhimrawat village, they said Mewat did not need any ‘vikas’, but a man who raised his voice for Meos. They asked all to turn into ‘Mamman bhakts’. Khan has denied any knowledge about the duo or the video and has issued an appeal to all his supporters to abstain from any such social media activity.