The organisers of the anti-Muslim hate speech event in Jantar Mantar in August 2021 are scheduled to venture into similar territory once again as they prepare to host a 'Hindu Mahapanchayat' on Sunday, 3 April, in Delhi's Burari.
Even the agenda for the 'Hindu Mahapanchayat' is similar to that of the Jantar Mantar event last year. Most of the talking points mentioned on the 'Mahapanchayat' poster are the same as those which were featured on the Jantar Mantar event hoarding.
The anti-Muslim sloganeering at the Jantar Mantar event on 8 August 2021 had led to the Delhi Police arresting BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay and five others who were part of the event, including event organiser Preet Singh, president of Save India Foundation.
Singh had received bail in the case in September 2021.
And it is the same Preet Singh and his Save India Foundation that are organising the 'Hindu Mahapanchayat' in Delhi on 3 April. The organisers have even invited Sudarshan News editor Suresh Chavhanke as one of the chief guests of the 'Mahapanchayat'. Chavhanke has often been accused of putting out hateful content on his channel.
Delhi Police Denies Permission For Event
Speaking to The Quint, DCP North West Delhi Usha Rangnani stated that permission for the Hindu Mahapanchayat has been denied.
According to Rangnani, the landowning authority of the Burari Ground - Delhi Development Authority (DDA) - has not given a go-ahead for the Hindu Mahapanchayat event due to existing work going on in the area.
Rangnani had earlier told The Quint on Thursday that the organisers had not applied for permission.
The organisers of the event had, however, said that their preparations are fully underway for the event at Burari ground on Sunday. Talking to The Quint on Thursday, Arvind Tyagi, a key functionary of the Save India Foundation and one of the 'Hindu Mahapanchayat' organisers, remarked, "We are in touch with the police regarding the event but have no written permission so far. The local police are telling us that they will have to deploy personnel for the event."
"So, the police are in the know," claimed Tyagi. On being asked whether the event would be called off if the police permission did not come through, Tyagi said "How will the programme be cancelled? People have made arrangements to come for the event. Most of our payments related to setting up and organising the event have been made. So, even if the police deny permission for the event, the event will still take place."
The same organisers had hosted a similar event with a similar agenda at which hateful and provocative anti-Muslim slogans had been raised by participants and organisers alike.
The Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet in the Jantar Mantar case in November 2021. Will April 2022 see a repeat of the hate speech event in the national capital though?
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