Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 29 : Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi on Monday strongly condemned the lathi charge on Muslims protesting against alleged insults to their faith in the Ahilyanagar, accusing the Maharashtra government of fostering communal discord.
"It means that you can insult Muslims as much as you want... Even if a Muslim protests, he is lathi-charged. So I believe there is no longer any such thing as law. I am repeatedly telling CM Devendra Fadnavis that if there is any insulting statement against anyone's religion, then you should bring a law so that the person is punished. The government itself wants such things to happen. I condemn this," he said.
He urged the Chief Minister to prioritise legislative action over investigations, saying, "The Chief Minister should conduct the inquiry later; first, he should make a law that whoever does this against anyone's religion will be punished with 10 years of imprisonment."
According to a statement by Ahilyanagar Police, 30 people were detained after a protest turned violent, and police had to resort to mild lathi charge.
During Navratri celebrations, someone had made a Rangoli with some objectionable elements against a religious community. After noticing the objectionable content of the Rangoli, people of the community reached the police station and lodged their complaint.
Following that, an FIR was registered, and one person was arrested who had created the Rangoli. However, the group was still not convinced, and they started a protest in Kotla under the jurisdiction of Tofkhana Police Station, Ahilyanagar police said.
According to the police, after half an hour, when they attempted to persuade the protesters to end their demonstration, they began pelting stones. In response to that, the police had to resort to a mild lathi charge. The crowd has dispersed, and the area is now peaceful.
An FIR has also been registered, and an investigation into the case is underway.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hinted at a larger conspiracy behind the violence in Ahilyanagar, where police detained 30 people after a protest against an allegedly objectionable Rangoli turned violent.
Speaking to reporters, Devendra Fadnavis condemned the alleged attempt to polarise the public.
"The way some boards are being put up, we will have to see if there is a conspiracy behind this. We also need to see who is trying to spoil the social environment. Is anyone trying to polarise us in the same way that was attempted during the Lok Sabha elections? Everyone has the right to practice their religion, but it is wrong to create tension among people in this way," the Chief Minister said.