ALBA have reported the Scottish Greens to the police over an alleged breach of hate crime laws.
The party has hit back over a story in the Sunday National in which Alba candidate Dhruva Kumar was criticised for making offensive social media posts about “mixed breed” people.
Kumar is a staunch Hindu nationalist and is a supporter of Narendra Modi, who has been accused of stoking religious tensions in India against the country’s Muslim minority.
The Alba candidate is standing in Glasgow South, home of some of Scotland’s largest Muslim communities.
The party have accused the Scottish Greens of attempting to “pit Scottish Muslim and Hindu communities against each other”.
Alba said they believed the criticisms of their candidate were an attempt to stir up hatred based on the grounds of religion, which would be a breach of the controversial Hate Crime Act which the Greens helped to pass.
Party chair Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (above) said: “The behaviour of the Green Party is disgusting.
“It is truly appalling to attempt to pit Scottish Muslim and Hindu communities against each other as part of a General Election campaign.
“Mr Kumar has been a leading light in Alba Party’s wider equalities structures, he has campaigned with and offered support to our candidates whether they are Muslim, African Scots and all else who call Scotland home.
“Of course unlike the Greens, Alba actually fields Scots Muslim candidates.”
She said that the “behaviour and attempts of the Scottish Green Party to stoke racial and religious divisions will be rejected by voters”.
Ahmed-Sheikh said that the party’s general secretary Chris McEleny had reported the matter to the police “to investigate them for a breach of their own Hate Crime Act”.
A Scottish Greens spokesperson said it was a "new low" for Alba, adding: "Voters are too intelligent to be deceived by their desperate and malicious attempts at publicity.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a report has been received and is currently being assessed.”
