Home Ministry orders vigil on social media, sermons amid pro-Iran protests

The MHA said that the states should keep a strict vigil on social media activities to ensure that there is no flare up of emotions.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked states to keep an eye on pro-Iran protests in India in the wake of US-Israel military attack on the West Asian country and remain alert on pro-Iran radical preachers giving inflammatory statements that could provoke violence, officials said on Monday.

In its letter circulated soon after the military escalation on Saturday, the MHA also said that the states should keep a strict vigil on social media activities to ensure that there is no flare up of emotions. 

States have been asked to ensure that pro-Iran protests should not lead to law and order issues, even as several parts of the country witnessed Shia mourners taking to the streets to protest the killing of Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the US-Israel joint strike.

Sources said sermons by pro-Iran religious preachers should be pre-empted and necessary actions should be taken. 

Security at consulates, embassies, and other diplomatic offices of the US and Israel in their jurisdictions have to be intensified to prevent any untoward incident and maintain peace and tranquillity.

Earlier, a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reviewed the situation arising out of the ongoing military hostilities in West Asia