Case registered against Sharjeel Usmani for comments on Hindus; Fadnavis demands action!

Mumbai, Feb 3: Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to take strict action against Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) alumnus Sharjeel Usmani for his comments on the Hindu community during a recent Elgar Parishad event.

 

 

In a letter, the former Chief Minister said that the statement made by Usmani at an event in Pune on January 30 was "against the Hindu community" and was meant to 'disrupt communal harmony'.

 

"The statement made by Sharjeel Usmani at Elgar Parishad event in Pune on 30 January against Hindu community is defamatory, objectionable and is very serious, there is a need for the state government to immediately take strict action on it.. the statement made by him is objectionable and were meant to disrupt the communal harmony," Fadnavis wrote.

 

 

Further, he added that he hoped that a case would be registered against Usmani to send a message about the consequences for making such a statement. "When it was known what had happened through the Elgar Parishad event in the past, such an event should not have been permitted to happen. How wrong it was to permit this event to happen is now visible through Sharjeel's speech. It is not good to ignore things that happened in the event if the event was given permission."

 

 

Earlier, on January 30, 'Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyan' was organised at Pune. At the event, Usmani allegedly made defaming statements on the Hindu community during his address. The gathering was also addressed by writer Arundhati Roy, Justice (retd) BG Kolse Patil and former IPS official SM Mushrif, among others.

 

Following this, the Pune City Police filed an FIR against Usmani. The complaint was filed by Pradip Gawade, Pune regional secretary of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments and using objectionable words against a particular community. A case under section 153 (A) of the IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground religion, etc) was registered against him, said Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta.

 

Three years ago, the Elgar Parishad event on December 31, 2017, was organized by the Kabir Kala Manch at Shaniwarwada that became controversial after provocative speeches were allegedly made in the event promoting enmity between people. It had triggered the violence in Bhima Koregaon the next day.

 

The police investigation further found Maoist links in the Elgar Parishad 2017, leading to the arrest of 16 activists alleged to have links with the banned Maoist party.