Communal tensions continue to simmer in India’s Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Maharashtra states as the ‘I love Muhammad’ row continues, reported Indian media on Friday.
In UP’s Bareilly, Indian authorities deployed large contingents of security forces ahead of Friday prayers. Internet services have also been suspended till Saturday, 3 pm. Local administration claimed the move was due to recent communal tensions and in light of Dussehra and Durga Puja festivities over the weekend.
Bareilly witnessed violent clashes last week, with over 2,000 protesters clashing with state police outside a mosque after Friday prayers. Local law enforcement arrested at least 81 people after the demonstration.
The issue came to the forefront on September 9, when an FIR was filed against 24 individuals for allegedly putting up posters with ‘I love Muhammad’ during the Eid Miladun Nabi procession on September 4. Hindu groups and right-wing organisations in the region objected to the posters and called it a “deliberate provocation”.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also warned of strict action against “rioters”.
A day earlier, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the heavy-handed response from the state.
“The laws are so designed that it is possible to shower praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but not on the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)”.
“In this country, one can say ‘I love Modi’ but not ‘I love Muhammad’. Where are you taking this nation? If someone says ‘I love Modi’, and erect posters, everyone becomes happy. But if someone says ‘I love Mohammad’, then that is objected to,” added Owaisi.
Jahanzaib Sirwal, a local BJP leader from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), called for an impartial investigation to hold all wrongdoers accountable and not just one community.
“What was a simple, heartfelt act of faith has been met with FIRs, detentions and inflammatory rhetoric, including Adityanath’s remarks about ‘denting-painting’ and teaching lessons to generations,” said the BJP leader.
He added that such statements were divisive and also an “affront to the constitutional right under Article 25 to freely practice and profess one’s religion”.
Expressing his displeasure, Sirwal also threatened to resign from the party over Adityanath’s “unacceptable” remarks and the “vindictive” attitude of the state police against the Muslim community.
Separately, in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar, a demonstration by local Muslims, protesting against ‘I love Muhammad’ graffiti on the road, turned violent earlier this week after the protesters were baton-charged by local police.
Law enforcement officials claimed the protesters blocked a vital thoroughfare in the city and pelted stones at police officials. Police arrested at least 30 people following the incident.
Indian authorities have also demolished properties belonging to Muslims accused of rioting and disturbing law and order.
