AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi is calling for a ban on the Mahapanchayat that right-wing groups plan to hold in Uttarkashi’s Purola on June 15. Owaisi tweeted that the event should be banned immediately and that security should be provided to people living in the area. He also called for arrangements to be made to bring back those who have migrated from the district due to tension and threats.
The trouble began on May 26 after two men, a Muslim and a Hindu, allegedly tried to abduct a 14-year-old girl. Some people alleged that it was a case of ‘Love Jihad’. Though the accused were arrested, some right-wing groups staged protests and attacked shops and houses of several Muslims. A protest march in Purola on May 29 turned violent after some of the agitators attacked shops and establishments belonging to the Muslims. A similar protest was held on June 3, under the banner of Yamuna Ghati Hindu Jagriti Sangathan. Hundreds of people took part in the protest.
Posters threatening Muslim traders to shut shops and leave the state by June 15 have also come up in Purola market. Due to the tension and threats, Muslims have shut their shops and some families have migrated from the district.
In another tweet, Owaisi said that Muslims are upset that the community is being targeted for the alleged criminal act committed by one among them. He added that their Pasmanda (backward) identity and allegiance to the BJP have failed to insulate them from the Hindutva brigade’s manufactured fury. The MP was reacting to a media report that BJP has betrayed Pasmanda Muslims of Purola.
Owaisi reminded the BJP government that it is their job to send the culprits to jail and restore peace. He also criticized the BJP’s Pasmanda rhetoric, saying that it is full of sweet words and promises signifying, in reality, nothing. He added that the real agenda is to invisibilize Muslims and make them second-class citizens.
