On January 31, Keshav Upadhye, Maharashtra state unit spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), urged Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government to take action against Sharjeel Usmani for alleged Hinduphobic speech at Elgar Parishad in Pune on Saturday.
As per the reports, Usmani, former student leader and columnist for Newslaundy, addressed a gathering of around 500 people in the second edition of Elgar Parishad at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch, where he used defamatory language against the Hindu community.
महाराष्ट्रात येऊन थेट हिंदूना सडका म्हणायची मजल जाते. @OfficeofUT याच्यावर कारवाई करणार की नुसत हिंदुत्व सोडल नसल्याच्या गप्पा मारणार?@AnilDeshmukhNCP याच्यावर तातडीने कारवाई व्हायला हवी. pic.twitter.com/vOG2pTZtFA
— Keshav Upadhye (@keshavupadhye) January 31, 2021
Upadhye urged CM Thackeray to take action against Usmani. He said, “Will the CM take action against him or continue with his rhetoric that they have not left Hindutva. State home minister Anil Deshmukh should take action against him.”
Elgar Parishad: More than two hours of incendiary speeches
On Saturday, Elgar Parishad was organized by Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyan, an umbrella organization of 250 Dalit organizations. It was first held in 2018 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima-Koregaon of 1818. The conclave resulted in violent clashes at Bhima-Koregaon village.
During the second edition of the Elgar Parishad, several speakers, including Sharjeel Usmani, Arundhati Roy and Prashant Kanojia, used the stage to spread Hinduphobia. While Usmani called the Hindu community rotten, Arundhati Roy happily threw Gaurmutra jibes to mock Hindus.
Kanojia said the movements would continue until their ‘Kashmiri brothers’ receive justice, Akhlaq and Pehlu Khan receive justice, and the farm laws are not repealed. He said that the movement would continue until the RSS is uprooted from this world. Furthermore, in a particularly incendiary bit, he told Dalits that it is better to ‘die fighting in the streets’ than live as ‘oppressed.’
