On Sunday, the Minorities Democratic Party (MDP) in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district issued death threats to the former spokesperson of BJP Nupur Sharma for her statement on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. While speaking at a press meet organized by the Minorities Democratic Party, an Islamic leader named Mohammad Hamid said that Sharma had committed a ‘crime’ by speaking against the Prophet and that she deserves the punishment of death.
Mohammad Hamid, who is the president of an Islamic organization named Iman Tanjeem was speaking at a press event organized by MDP in Nagpur. He stated that Sharma by ‘attacking the character’ of Prophet had herself signed on a suicide note. “There’s only one punishment for this ‘crime’ and that is death. Kamlesh Tiwari was executed five years after he made objectionable comments on Prophet Mohammad. People stabbed him to death. Don’t think you’ll (Sharma) be forgiven. Do not ever play with the 1100 volt current”, he threatened. (Time Stamp: 01:30)
Hamid also accused Sharma of allegedly using Islam for rising in politics. He said, “People like these (Sharma) have no credibility to work for the betterment of the society. They only know how to criticize Islam for their political benefits”, he blatantly stated demanding strict action against the former BJP spokesperson.
On June 4, the Minorities Democratic Party (MDP) members staged a protest in Nagpur against Sharma and demanded death punishment for her. The protesters raised slogans like ‘Huzur ki Shaan me gustakhi karne wale ko maafi nahi (no forgiveness to persons who speak against Prophet)’. Hundreds of Islamists who joined the MDP protest in the city also yelled ‘Nupur Sharma Murdabad’ slogans.
Imran Raza, MDP’s vice president said that several FIRs have been filed against Sharma in Mumbai but nobody is taking any action against her. He demanded the immediate arrest and the ‘silencing’ of the former BJP spokesperson. “Is Nupur Sharma ko giraftar kare aur uspar viram lagaye (Arrest Nupur Sharma and silence her). Otherwise, lakhs of Muslims will gather and continue to protest against her”, he said.
Meanwhile, another protester demanded a Parliamentary Act to prevent ‘atrocities’ and ‘hate crimes’ against Islam. “You can’t speak anything wrong against the Dalits, right? Because there is the SCST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to prevent atrocities and hate crimes against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Similarly, the government should enact laws to prevent atrocities against Islam and other religions also. Government can get Triple Talaq, why can’t it enact such Act then”, he pondered blatantly criticizing Sharma for her alleged remarks.
It is important to note that it is not only the MDP who has issued death threats to Sharma saying that she’ll meet the same fate as Kamlesh Tiwari. A video posted by popular activist Anshul Saxena revealed that the Islamists and their supporters were openly saying to the media that Nupur Sharma will meet the same fate as Kamlesh Tiwari.
Kamlesh Tiwari was a former Hindu Mahasabha leader who was brutally stabbed to death in his house in 2019 for his 2015 remarks on Muhammad. As reported earlier, in October 2019, he was brutally stabbed, and shot inside his own house by 2 Islamists who had hatched an elaborate plan to disguise as Hindu men and had managed to meet him.
In the year 2015, Tiwari had courted controversy by allegedly making objectionable comments about Prophet Mohammad. He was booked under the National Security Act (NSA) and jailed on the charge of stoking communal unrest.
Reportedly, the threats from the MDP leaders appeared on the day when the Bharatiya Janata Party suspended National Spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal. In its suspension letter, the BJP told Sharma that she had expressed views contrary to the party’s on various matters which violate the party’s constitution. “The party respects all religions and is against any ideology that insults or demeans any sect or religion”, it stated.
Sharma has been facing threats including death threats from Islamists since she made some comments as per the Islamic texts on Prophet Muhammad that irked the Muslims. She argued that since people are mocking the Hindu faith repeatedly, the Hindus can also mock other religions by referring to Islamic beliefs and the life of Prophet Muhammad. Her statement was taken out of context by Alt News co-founder and alleged fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, who released an army of trolls and Islamists after Sharma. Multiple FIRs have been registered against Sharma after the remarks and open calls for her death have also been made.