At Haridwar, Hindutva leaders declare ‘war’ against Muslims

Swami Prabodhanand Giri (right) with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath

Brazen calls for genocide and use of weapons against Muslims were made at a religious event in Haridwar in Uttarakhand last week. As recordings of the speeches at the function made their way to social media, scores of people demanded action against the speakers, who have flaunted their links with the BJP and have said they stand by their hate speeches, reported NDTV. While the event was held between December 17 and 19, no FIR had been registered against the hate speeches till Thursday evening. If one of the speakers invoked Godse, another said he felt like pumping six bullets into former prime minister Manmohan Singh at one point in time. The office of Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar said he had directed Haridwar DIG/SSP Yogendra Singh Rawat to take cognisance of the videos regarding the event and take action "in case a complaint is filed".

A still from a video of the three-day event in Haridwar, Uttarakhand

The conclave or Dharma Sansad was organised by Yati Narasimhanand, a religious leader who has been accused in the past of inciting violence, said NDTV. According to a police complaint filed by Trinamool Congress leader and RTI activist Saket Gokhale, others associated with the gathering are Hindu Raksha Sena's Prabodhanand Giri, BJP women's wing leader Udita Tyagi and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, who is out on bail in hate speech case. "Like Myanmar, our police, our politicians, our Army and every Hindu must pick up weapons and conduct a Safayi Abhiyan [clean-up]. There is no other option left," Giri can be heard in a video. Giri has said he stands by his statement.

Sadhvi Annapurna aka Pooja Shakun Pandey, a mahamandleshwar of the Niranjani Akhara and general secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha, also gave a call to arms and incitement to genocide, reported The Wire. "Nothing is possible without weapons. If you want to eliminate their population then kill them. Be ready to kill and be ready to go to jail. Even if 100 of us are ready to kill 20 lakhs of them (Muslims), then we will be victorious, and go to jail… Like [Nathuram] Godse, I am ready to be maligned, but I will pick up arms to defend my Hindutva from every demon who is a threat to my religion," she said.

Yati Narasimhanand, who had organised the Dharma Sansad

Another video from the controversial event shows Pooja Shakun Pandey, also known as Sadhvi Annapurna, urging violence against Muslims. "If you want to finish them off, then ki|l them... We need 100 soldiers who can ki|l 20 lakh of them to win this," she says. Later, she told NDTV, "The Constitution of India is wrong. Indians should pray to Nathuram Godse [Mahatma Gandhi's assassin]. I am not afraid of the police."

A grab from a video of the event in Haridwar

BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, who was seen sharing the stage with seers, said that he was present at the event only for 30 minutes and had nothing to do with what was said before him. In one of the visuals, Swami Dharam Das Maharaj talks of "becoming Nathuram Godse" and shooting Manmohan Singh, ex-PM, in parliament. "If I was present in Parliament when PM Manmohan Singh said minorities have first right over national resources, I would've followed Nathuram Godse, I'd have shot him six times in the chest with a revolver," he said.

Cow is mother, sacred to us: Modi

Taking a swipe at Opposition parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said talking about cows has been made a matter of "sin" by some people. He was addressing a rally, ahead of the Assembly elections in UP. Modi said those making jokes on cows and buffaloes forget that the livelihood of eight crore families depends on "pashudhan" (livestock). "Talking about cow, talking about ‘gobardhan' has been made a matter of ‘gunah' [sin] by some people. Cow can be a sin for some people, for us it is mother, sacred [gaaye kuch logo ke liye gunah ho sakti hai, hamare liye gaaye, mata hai, poojniye hai]," Modi said.

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