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Ayodhya’s Tapasvi Chhavni Pithadhishvar Jagadguru Paramhans Acharya recently warned that he will take matters into his own hands if the fast track court handling the Udaipur case does not sentence the two accused to be “hanged until death”.
Speaking to mediapersons, the acharya condemned Udaipur murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a Hindu tailor by two hardline Islamists on June 28. The victim had shared a post in support of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. Riyaz and Gos Mohammed claimed this is why they murdered the man and boasted of the crime in a video.
Hardly a day after the incident, there was a flurry of appeals by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and multiple Muslim organisations to maintain peace while the authorities dealt with the vile crime. However, eager to fan the flames of communalism, extremists like the Acharya called upon his supporters to take matters into their own hands.
“If these two are not hanged until death, then I will take the law in my own hands, as will 100 crore other Hindus and make India jihad-free,” he said while talking to media persons.
He then went on to defend Sharma’s hate speech against Islam and Prophet Mohammad, stating that what she said was already in the Quran. This despite the widespread June 10 protests and the huge outrage by Gulf countries over the ex-BJP leader’s words.
Further inciting hate, the Acharya said that Muslims should go to Pakistan and Bangladesh because they did not condemn the Udaipur murder. When in reality, Muslims organisations were among the first to decry the Udaipur horror.
Muslim socio-cultural groups such as the Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) that condemned the brutal murder saying, “We advise those who speak on behalf of Muslim issues to desist from making emotional, bigoted, intolerant and fanatical appeals in the name of religion.” Maulana Abdul Batin Nomani, the Mufti-e-Varanasi strongly condemned the heinous crime, calling it a violation of Indian law and Islamic law. The Ajmer Dargah Dewan Syed Zainual Abedin Ali Khan asked local Muslims to stand against the “Talibanised mindset” responsible for the gruesome killing.
Similarly, Jama Masjid, Delhi’s Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari gave a statement condemning the murder that ‘shook humanity’. He said, “[The murder] is not only an act of cowardice but an act against Islam, unlawful and inhuman. I, myself and on behalf of the Muslims of India, with all the vehemence at our disposal, condemn this act.”
Still, the Acharya threatens to exact revenge and torture the accused with four times as vigour if the law does not obey his demands. According to local reports, the acharya is notorious for making controversial remarks. Around June 26, he appealed to the Centre to pass a law wherein a violent person is first warned for committing crimes and then on a second offence shot on the spot. In that same interview with One India Hindi he also condemned the Emergency period and asked that India be declared a ‘Hindu nation’.
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