Jaipur: The Jaipur police on Saturday (April 26) registered an FIR against Balmukundacharya alias Sanjay Sharma, the BJP MLA from Hawa Mahal constituency for allegedly leading a large crowd, assembling before the Jama Masjid in Jaipur’s Johari Bazaar and raising religious slogans, ostensibly to protest against the Pahalgam attack.After the FIR was registered, the BJP MLA issued a video statement expressing “regret” saying that it was not his intention to hurt religious feelings of any community. According to the FIR, the incident took place on Friday (April 25) night. Earlier, on Friday evening, an “Aakrosh Sabha” was held in Badi Chaupar inside the walled city to protest against the recent killing of 26 tourists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Several BJP leaders including Balmukundacharya had participated in the massive protest, held at the centre of Jaipur, just adjacent to the iconic Hawa Mahal.
Those who attended the protest raised slogans such as “Pakistan Murdabad”, “Jai Shree Ram” and held up saffron flags and torches to express their anger. “We have two Hanumans of Bharat. One is Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, another is Amit Shah ji. In logon ko chun chun kar Jannat ke darwaze mein bheja jaega…(These people will be sent to the gates of heaven one by one),” Balmukundacharya told reporters, adding that the terrorists who asked people their religions before killing them will also be identified.
‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans outside mosque, FIR against MLA After the Aakrosh Sabha concluded, Balmukundacharya allegedly led a crowd and assembled outside the Jama Masjid in Johari Bazaar. “As namaz was being offered inside the mosque, Balmukundacharya, the MLA from the Hawa Mahal constituency entered the Jama Masjid with his 60-70 people of criminal nature and raised religious slogans to create communal tension between two religions and incite riots,” says the FIR registered in the case on the basis of the complaint of Mohammed Shabbir Qureshi, the Sadar of the Jama Masjid. In videos circulated in social media, a large crowd is allegedly seen chanting slogans such as “Jai Shree Ram” in front of the Jama Masjid. The FIR says that the crowd also threatened to kill Muslims.
“The MLA is trying to spoil the brotherhood and communal harmony of Jaipur. People are saddened and angered by his act of raising slogans at the Jama Masjid. Writing Pakistan Murdabad on posters is not an issue but they were raising chants of Jai Shree Ram outside the mosque and he climbed the stairs of the mosque with the crowd. He tried to terrorise us.
We demand strict action against him,” Mohammed Nazimuddin, state president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Rajasthan, told reporters. In response to the slogans, members of the Muslim community too assembled, demanding action against Balmukundacharya and those who were raising the slogans. Congress MLAs Amin Kagzi (Kishanpole constituency) and Rafeek Khan (Adarsh Nagar) also reached the spot following the confrontation. A large number of police personnel were deployed at the spot to prevent further escalation.
“Prima facie it appears that the MLA pasted a Pakistan Murdabad poster on the steps of the Jama Masjid. We have registered an FIR against Balmukundacharya and other unknown people for promoting enmity. The situation is peaceful at the moment,” Jaipur police commissioner Biju George Joseph told The Wire. The FIR against Balmukundacharya has been registered under sections 298 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class), 300 (disturbing religious assembly), 302 (uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings of any person) and 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS. The investigation has been handed over to the CID (CB) of the Rajasthan police, which is the nodal agency for probing cases against public representatives.
Balmukundacharya expresses regret, MLA is known for statements targeting Muslims A first-time MLA, Balmukundacharya has been in the news ever since his election victory from the Hawa Mahal seat by a margin of only 974 votes. Balmukundacharya, whose real name is Sanjay Sharma, is the mahant of the Hathoj Dham temple. In the last two years, the saffron-clad firebrand Hindutva leader has been consistently in the news for targeting a Muslim community. Days after his election to the state assembly, the ruling party MLA had started a campaign against restaurants selling nonvegetarian food.
In videos widely circulated on social media, the MLA could be seen telling eateries selling that “this is Apara Kashi, not Karachi,” and “Sharaabi-Kebabi (those who drink and eat nonvegetarian food) gather near these shops, causing inconvenience to mothers and sisters. However, Balmukundacharya had later apologised, saying that he was only speaking about unlicensed shops. In March this year, Balmukundacharya had spoken against loudspeakers in mosques and had even asked lawyers who are members of the BJP’s legal cell to “resolve” the issue. His statement was criticised by his own party member and deputy chief minister Prem Chand Bairwa, who termed Balmukundacharya’s statement as “indecent” and had said that he didn’t agree with him.
Much like the previous instance during his campaign against nonvegetarian shops, after the FIR was registered against him, Balmukundacharya issued a video on Saturday (April 26), expressing his “regret” if anybody’s religious sentiments have been hurt by his statements. He added that he had pasted stickers saying “Atankwaad Murdabad” and “Pakistan Murdabad” outside temples, toilets and on the footpath in front of the mosque. “How can somebody’s religious feelings get hurt from slogans such as Pakistan Murdabad and Atankwad Murdabad. Our intention was to give the message that Hindus and Muslims are standing together.
If nobody objects to stickers on the stairs of temples, why should there be any objection for stickers outside the mosque. But still if anybody feels that their religious sentiments have been hurt by any statement of mine, I am expressing my regret. We respect all religions,” said Balmukundacharya. However, the MLA did not mention in the video that religious slogans were being chanted by the crowd outside the mosque.