Indian Lawmaker Raises Eyebrows With Threat to Send School Principal to Afghanistan

Himachal Pradesh legislator Hans Raj has often courted controversy. Earlier this year, he made headlines when he allegedly beat a student at a government school. In the past, the lawmaker also drew flak for allegedly making insulting remarks against lawyers in the northern Indian state.

A state legislator in India's Himachal Pradesh state stoked controversy after he was allegedly heard threatening a school principal and demanding the enrollment of one of his relatives in a purported audio clip that has gone viral.

In the purported audio clip, Hans Raj, the Deputy Speaker in the Himachal Pradesh state assembly, could be heard pressuring the school staffer.

"I am a deputy speaker in Chamba. I will ask Anurag ji (federal Minister Anurag Thakur from Himachal Pradesh) to speak to your chairman. He will set you right," the legislator is heard stating in the audio.

But things continued to heat up as the principal stood his ground and responded that the legislator's relative cannot be granted admission on the basis of these threats.

To this, the Himachal Pradesh lawmaker is heard responding, "I will send you to Kabul, Kandhar, Afghanistan."

His reactions triggered confusion on social media, with one netizen even jokingly suggesting the lawmaker could now start issuing visas to the country on an official basis.

"P.S. anyone who wants to go to Afghanistan with avVisa can contact Mr. Hans Raj ji," the user tweeted.

School enrollment is done strictly based on merit and grade-specific criteria in India.

Any deviation from admission rules can become problematic, considering these learning institutions have to release their respective lists of students admitted every year in public.