Hundreds of Muslims took to the streets in Delhi, UP, West Bengal, Telangana, Jharkhand, Kashmir and other states after Friday prayer to protest against the remarks made by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal on Prophet Muhammad.
AMN / WEB DESK
Massive protests broke out in several parts of the country over the remarks made by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.
The protestors carried placards demanding Nupur Sharma’s arrest and also burnt effigies of the BJP leader. Incidents of stone-pelting were reported in several states as protestors clashed with police.
Though the BJP has tried to distance itself from the controversy, claiming that the remarks were “views of the fringe”, it has failed to appease the protestors, who are demanding Nupur Sharma’s arrest. As per sources, the home ministry had issued an advisory to all states to remain vigilant ahead of Friday prayers.
The state of UP was riddled with protests across Lucknow, Prayagraj, Deoband and Moradabad over the same issue. In UP’s Saharanpur, locals tried to march towards the Ghantaghar after Friday prayers in the Nawabganj area. To contain the situation, cops resorted to baton-charge to disperse the crowd. The situation was tense but it got controlled at the moment.
Jama Masjid, Delhi
On Friday, protests broke out on the premises of Delhi’s Jama Masjid over remarks made by now-suspended BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal against Prophet Mohammad. Thousands of protestors, including children, were on the premises of the mosque. Protests erupted after Friday prayers.
The Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid had distanced himself from the demonstration, saying that no such call for protest was given by the mosque authorities.
“We don’t know who are the ones protesting. I think they belong to AIMIM or are Owaisi’s people. We made it clear that if they want to protest, they can, but we will not support them,” he said.
In Kolkata, hundreds turned up during Friday prayers with posters demanding Nupur Sharma’s arrest. The state also saw demonstrations on Thursday, with protestors putting up road blockades in several places of West Bengal’s Howrah district to protest against the controversial speech of BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, stones were hurled as clashes broke out between police and protesters in Atala area over controversial remarks of Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal.
Huge crowd also gathered in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad and Saharanpur districts demanding Nupur Sharma’s arrest over her inflammatory remarks.
Security has been beefed up in other UP cities, including Lucknow, Kanpur, and Firozabad as a precautionary measure. Violence had erupted in Kanpur last week over the BJP leaders’ controversial remarks.
The protests over BJP leaders’ remarks on Prophet Muhammad turned violent in Jharkhand’s Ranchi on Friday. As the crowd started pelting stone, the officials had to resort to lathi-charge and firing in the air to disperse the crowd. Several police personnel were injured in the incident.
The outrage over BJP leaders’ remark spilled over to Telangana as well, with protests taking place outside Makkah Masjid in Hyderabad. Later, the protesters were dispersed from the spot. Heavy security has been deployed in the area in the aftermath.
Srinagar
Protests erupted at several places here on Friday over controversial remarks made by two now-suspended BJP leaders against Prophet Mohammad (Pbuh) with the Hurriyat Conference alleging that anti-Muslim measures have become a hallmark of the government.
Protests were held at Lal Chowk, Batamaloo, Tengpora and other places in the city.
Holding placards, men, as well as women, staged protests after the Friday congregational prayers, officials said.
They said the protests were peaceful with no untoward incident being reported from anywhere.
Authorities have snapped internet on mobile phones in Srinagar as a precautionary measure to prevent rumor-mongering.