Several activists from Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM) filed complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sharma and other leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party for “fueling hate through their speeches” against Muslims during the election campaigns in Jharkhand.
On Friday, demanding immediate legal action against the BJP leaders for “delivering hate speeches”, the activists wrote a letter to Chief Secretary L Khaingte and Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta.
The letter read, “For the past several days the prime minister home minister Assam chief minister and many Union ministers and BJP National and state level leaders have been continuously giving hate speeches in their election rallies in Jharkhand they are targeting Indian Muslims by using the words love Jihad land Jihad and in the name of Bangladeshi infiltrators and are trying to create religious polarization in the state this is likely to spread and communalism among various community in Jharkhand.”
The JJM alleged that the leaders are trying to create religious animosity against Muslims in other communities by making false claims and allegations about Muslims. Around 16 social activists have signed the letter.
In their statement, the organization said, “This is harmful to the fabric of Jharkhand society and communal harmony it should be noted that the central government has replied in parliament that there are neither words like ‘Love Jihad’, ‘land Jihad’ in the law are they any such cases it should also be noted that in the case related to Bangladeshi infiltration going on in the High Court, the centre has said in its affidavit that the involvement of Bangladeshi infiltrators has not been established in the recent land dispute cases of Santhal Pargana. In this regard, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha and Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan had also found the same in the detailed fact-finding.”
The fact-finding report claimed that the BJP’s claims are not supported by evidence. The report called out BJP’s claims about Bangladeshi infiltration, communal violence and population decline.
The BJP leaders alleged that Bangladeshi Muslims “illegally residing” in Santhal Pargana, were seizing Adivasi land and were involved in ‘Love Jihad’ asserting that the population of Adivasi has declined due to the presence of infiltrators. Leaders also linked the involvement of these infiltrators to the recent incidents of violence in the region.
The fact-finding team found no evidence to support the claims made by the leaders and accused the BJP of trying to disrupt communal harmony as all the claims were a part of communal propaganda.
The High Court has ordered for a committee to be set up to look into the causes of the declining population of tribal communities in Santhal Pargana after a PIL was filed in the court by a BJP worker.
