Shameful that no arrest made for hate speeches made at Haridwar Dharma Sansad: Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said it was shameful that no arrest has been made for the alleged hate speeches made against a particular community during the 'Dharma Sansad' held at Ved Niketan Dham in Haridwar.

The Congress leader said the Supreme Court should take cognisance of the matter and initiate action.

The Dharma Sansad, held from December 17-20, was organised by Yati Narasimhanand Giri of the Juna Akhada, who is already under police scanner for making hate speeches and inciting violence against Muslims.

In a series of tweets, Gehlot said it was shameful even though there are videos of "provocative and violence-inciting speeches" at an event, no arrest has been made so far.

The prime minister, home minister and Uttarakhand chief minister are silent on this issue, he said.

Also read: As Hindu extremists call for killing of Muslims, India’s leaders keep silent

"Some unruly elements in our country talk about killing people of one community, but no action is taken against them. It seems that there is a jungle raj situation in BJP-ruled states. Wherever genocide took place in the world, there were similar inflammatory speeches on which no action was taken," Gehlot said.

He said citizens will have to decide whether such violent people can be representatives of any religion.

"Do the government that has avoided taking action against these miscreants have any right to continue?" Gehlot asked.

An FIR has been lodged against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi and others in connection with alleged hate speeches delivered at a Dharma Sansad in Haridwar to incite violence against the minorities, police said on Friday.

Tyagi, who changed his name from Waseem Rizvi after converting to Hinduism earlier this month, and other speakers at last week's event have been accused of making extremely provocative speeches and some video clips of it are doing the rounds on social media.

Haridwar Kotwali Police station SHO Rakinder Singh said the FIR was registered on Thursday under IPC Section section 153A -- promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language -- and the matter is under investigation.

The FIR has been registered based on a complaint by a resident of the Jwalapur area in Haridwar. Asked about the video clips being shared on social media, the official said the police does not have any footage of the event yet.

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