Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday wrote a letter to incumbent Uddhav Thackeray seeking immediate strict action against student leader Sharjeel Usmani for allegedly defaming the Hindu community during his speech at Elgar Parishad this year.
This comes a day after Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that the state government will examine the speeches made at Elgar Parishad 2021 to see if any “objectionable comments” were made at the event.
On Monday, advocate Pradeep Gawade, state secretary of the BJP’s youth wing, filed a complaint at the Swargate police station in Pune.
Also Read | Elgar Parishad 2021: After 3 years, the conclave returns to Pune
Multiple BJP leaders have demanded stern action against Sharjeel Usmani, a student leader of the Aligarh Muslim University and anti-CAA activist.
BJP’s state unit spokesperson Keshav Upadhye had demanded that the state government take action against Sharjeel Usmani for making offensive comments against the Hindu community.
BJP MP Ram Kadam also tweeted asking the state government to take action against Usmani. "Three days have passed, but no action has been taken against the leaders of Elgar Parishad till now, who insulted the Hindu religion and the Hindu society. The Maharashtra government is trying to save them...If the government does not take any action in the next 48 hours, we will have to get out on the streets and agitate as Hindu society will not tolerate insult," he tweeted.
The Elgar Parishad event was organized by Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyan on Jan 30. Author Arundhati Roy, former bureaucrat Kannan Gopinath, Justice BG Kolse-Patil, Journalist Prashant Kanojia, student leaders Sharjeel Usmani and Ayesha Renna, Dalit agrarian labourer and activist Bant Singh along with activists, writers, academics, artists from Muslim, Left and Dalit organisations addressed the event.
