- Saturday, May 04, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
JUST when India was busy handling the diplomatic rows that the remarks made by a now-suspended member of the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) caused, more trouble started at home as massive protests erupted across the nation over the issue on Friday (10).
In Delhi, demonstrations took place outside the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in the country, after the Friday prayers. The protesters demanded the arrest of Nupur Sharma, the former BJP spokesperson who was suspended by the party in the wake of the controversy. The protesters were dispersed after about an hour.
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The Shahi Imam of the mosque said the authorities had not called for the protest. Speaking to Indian news channel NDTV, he said, “We don’t know who started it. Some people shouted slogans after the Friday prayers and a large crowd gathered. They dispersed soon. Everything is fine now.”
Protests also took place in parts of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous one with a sizeable Muslim population. Shops were closed in places such as Saharanpur, Moradabad and Prayagraj and others while in state capital Lucknow, Kanpur and Firozabad, the police tightened the security and patrolled. Kanpur recently seen clashed over the controversy and around 40 were injured in the violence.
In Prayagraj, stone-pelting was witnessed and the police cracked down on protesters in one area. The police also fired tear gas in retaliation and said later that the situation was under control but still tense.
In Saharanpur, 21 people were arrested for taking part in unauthorised protests after Friday prayers, district police chief Akash Tomar said in a statement, NDTV added.
A massive crowd gathered in one area of the town and visuals showed shops being forcibly closed by protesters and two-wheelers overturned. The police could be seen chasing the protesters. Similar scenes were seen in a locality in Moradabad too.
In Ranchi, the capital of the eastern state of Jharkhand neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, clashes with protesters near a temple saw several policemen getting. Videos of stone-throwing and the police struggling to control the situation were also seen. The police had to fire in the air to disperse the crowd. Curfew was also called in some parts of the city.
In West Bengal, another eastern state with a sizeable Muslim population, too, disturbances were seen. In the district of Howarh near state capital Kolkata, demonstrations were held and a national highway was blocked for several hours. Protest was also seen in Kolkata’ Park Circus area. Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of the state and a non-BJP leader, slammed the saffron party and asked the protesters to go to BJP-ruled states to demonstrate.
Protests in Solapur, #Maharashtra demanding arrest of former BJP spokesperson #NupurSharma for her remarks against Prophet Muhammad. pic.twitter.com/o1ZKdDIEUF
— Himanshi (@himansshhi) June 10, 2022
Protests in Solapur, #Maharashtra demanding arrest of former BJP spokesperson #NupurSharma for her remarks against Prophet Muhammad. pic.twitter.com/o1ZKdDIEUF
— Himanshi (@himansshhi) June 10, 2022
#Watch: People stage a protest at Kolkata’s Park Circus area after Friday prayers against the remarks made by suspended BJP leaders against Prophet Mohammad. pic.twitter.com/txx72CoObB
— Pooja Mehta (@pooja_news) June 10, 2022
Other regions of the country that witnessed demonstrations were Hyderabad in Telangana, Ludhiana in Punjab, Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat and Navi Mumbai and Solapur in Maharashtra. In Jammu and Kashmir’s capital Srinagar, too, large number of people gathered, marched and shouted slogans. Partial curfew and shutdown were also seen there.
In Panvel city in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, at least 3,000 protesters including around 1,000 women started a protest march, seeking the arrest of Sharma and Jindal.
A delegation also submitted a memorandum to Panvel tehsildar and the protest was over peacefully by 4 pm, said a local police official.
A protest was also held at Shivaji Chowk in Vashi, where a delegation submitted their demands to the Vashi police station officials, he said.
Similar protest gatherings or marches were also held in Thane, Aurangabad, Nandurbar, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Pune districts.
Heavy police security was deployed at all protest venues but there was no untoward incident anywhere, officials said. Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse-Patil said the protests passed off peacefully as police handled the situation well. Nobody should offend other people’s faith, he said.
