Protests in Bengaluru over Kamlesh Tiwari's remarks
A massive protest by almost 2000 Muslims in Bengaluru against alleged derogatory remarks made by a leader of a right-wing organization- Kamlesh Tiwari led to a massive traffic problem in the city. The eastern part of Bengaluru went into gridlock for 3-hours. However, the law and order police officials said that the demonstration was non-violent and no unruly incidents were reported in the city.
On 3 December 2015, Kamlesh Tiwari who is the self-assigned Hindu Mahasabha president called Prophet Mohammad the first homosexual in the world. He allegedly also distributed pamphlets against the Muslim community The remarks came a day after Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi party minister Azam Khan called RSS functionaries homosexuals. Azam had said that the reason why RSS members didn't marry was because they were homosexuals.
Kamlesh Tiwari was arrested by the Lucknow Police for trying to spread communal tensions by passing derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad. The arrest came after members of the Muslim community and students of Islamic school Darul Uloom Deoband had taken to streets in protest and had necessitated police action. Tension in Saharanpur and Deoband areas was eased after Tiwari's arrest.
A public statement issued by Hindu Mahasabha members claimed that Tiwari was not a working president of their organization and that the organisation's name was being tarnished. National Vice-President of Mahasabha- Ashok Sharma said that this was "fabrication done by BJP, RSS and other saffron groups to tarnish the image...they are using the name of our party to create tension in this area".
Furious over Kamlesh Tiwari's derogatory remarks on the Prophet, close to 1 lakh Muslims assembled in the communally delicate Muzaffarnagar to protest against Tiwari. The protestors commanded that Tiwari be handed out the death penalty for disrespecting the Prophet and hurting Muslim sentiments. The protestors also demanded a legislation for stricter laws against such acts and hate speech.
Ravinder Jadeja spoke about the issue in his tweet saying: "1 Lakh #Muslims Demanding 'Death Penalty' For Kamlesh Tiwari. No One Demanded Death Penalty For Aamir Khan When He Mocked Hindu Gods In PK."
