Jaipur: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA in Rajasthan has been booked for putting up a poster that read ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ within the premises of a mosque during a protest against the Pahalgam terror attack.
According to police, the BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had organised a protest rally on Friday evening against the April 22 Pahalgam massacre, in which 26 innocent Hindu civilians were killed and several others injured in the Baisaran valley, 5 km from Pahalgam town.
The FIR was lodged against Mahal Balmukundacharya, the legislator from Jaipur’s Hawa constituency, for putting up the communal poster.
It triggered tension among the communities, with Muslims gathering in the Walled City area to voice their anger.
Police forces from five police stations had to be deployed in the area to ensure the situation didn’t go out of hand.
“The MLA put up the poster at around 9 pm inside the mosque along with some other BJP workers right after the protest rally. The action enraged the local Muslim community who gathered in the area in hundreds and started demanding an immediate arrest of the MLA for hurting their sentiment. A large police force from five police stations were immediately deployed in the area while the senior police officials also reached the spot to pacify the mob,” additional police commissioner of Manak Chowk Hari Shankar Sharma said.
Balmukundacharya tried to justify his act by saying, “We were protesting against the terrorism and Pakistan. The same posters were also put up on the pavements.”
The country is outraged and angry about what happened at Baisaran valley four days ago. But protests can’t be like the one in Jaipur.
Politicians like Balmukundacharya need to realise that they have to exercise restraint so as not to incite the public and result in a communal riot.
