Ravinder Negi, the man whose feet PM Modi touched, had forced Muslim vendors to display their ’real’ names

Delhi Elections 2025: Ravinder Negi, BJP candidate for the Patparganj seat, garnered attention on Wednesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen touching his feet during an election rally ahead of the Delhi Elections 2025. Negi, an East Delhi councillor, previously stirred controversy in October 2024 for urging Muslim shopkeepers to display their ‘real’ names outside their businesses.

In October, Ravinder Negi was seen in several viral videos approaching shopkeepers, particularly those selling dairy products, and directing them to display their real names.

The East Delhi BJP councillor was also heard telling a shopkeeper, “Navratri is coming and to support the sentiments of Hindu customers, people should clearly specify their Muslim names on shops.”

‘Tomar is a Hindu Surname’

In Chander Vihar, Delhi, Ravinder Singh Negi confronted the owner of ‘Tomar Dairy’, demanding to know his name and religion. When the shopkeeper, Altamash Tomar, identified himself as a Muslim, Negi questioned why the shop bore a surname typically associated with Hindus.

Ravinder Negi pressured the shopkeeper to change the name to one that clearly indicated his Muslim identity, threatening that failure to comply would result in the shop being forcibly shut down.

“Rawal Dairy” 

In another incident, Ravinder Negi also confronted a dairy vendor, saying: “When your name is Mohammed Ayan, why have you placed a signboard that says Rawal Dairy? Why are you betraying people in a Hindu-dominated area? We have no fight against you. This is unfair. So better change the name immediately.”

The same video also shows the councillor approaching a street vendor, selling fritters, and scolding him for not moving his stall a little distance away from a Hindu-dominated area.

“We will confiscate the vending machine if you don’t act. Don’t come to me later and say that poor people are being harassed. There are Hindu people living here, and they have raised serious concerns,” he threatened.

In the videos, Ravinder Negi also visited butcher shops before Kanwar Yatra and Chhath Puja, asking them to keep the shops closed to respect the religious sentiments of Hindus.

Negi was seen checking the names of shopowners using payment apps and then threatening them to display the names that would ‘clarify’ their Muslim identity. Negi’s harassment of Muslim shopkeepers continued during Hindu religious festivals and periods, like the month of Sawan, Chhath Puja and Navratri.

AltNews reported an incident wherein Ravinder Negi was seen telling fish and meat shopkeepers to shut their shops during Navaratri. The BJP leader was heard threatening the vendors, saying, “I have to stay here for five years. If you obey me, you will be able to work peacefully.”

Who Is BJP Councillor Ravinder Negi?

Ravinder Singh Negi, 45, is contesting for the Patparganj seat on a BJP ticket and currently serves as a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) councillor representing Vinod Nagar.

Ravinder Negi narrowly lost to AAP’s Manish Sisodia by just 2 per cent votes in 2020.

In the 2022 MCD elections, the BJP leader secured victory against the AAP candidate by a margin of 2,311 votes.

For Delhi Elections 2025, Negi is up against AAP’s Avadh Ojha and Congress’s Anil Kumar Chaudhary.

The Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled to take place on February 5, with the counting of votes set for February 8, 2025.