Hindutva leader and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) former legislator in Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Som has stated that the historic mosques in Mathura and Varanasi will be demolished just like the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya was demolished by a Hindutva mob in 1992. According to Kashmir Media Service, Sangeet Som addressing an event to celebrate Holi at Dashrathpur village in Meerut said, “We will not take the help of the court.

Just like the public demolished the Babri Masjid, we will demolish the mosques in Mathura-Kashi and build a temple.” He said a temple of Bhagwan Bhole Shankar would be built after erasing the trace of the Mughal ruler in Varanasi and a temple of Bhagwan Krishna would be built in Mathura. The Hindutva leader said Mughal ruler Aurangzeb committed atrocities on Hindus and demolished temples in Varanasi and Mathura without taking any support from the court.

“Why are we then asked to get every issue resolved through courts?” he asked. He demanded the removal of all things associated with Aurangzeb just like the traces of Mughal king Babar were removed by demolishing Babri Masjid. The BJP leader is not new to such communal remarks and activities. In 2013, he played a role in the communal violence that erupted in Muzaffarnagar. He was booked under the National Security Act on September 24,  2013.

Justice Vishnu Sahai Commission’s report on the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 has put him on top of the list of those responsible for the flare-up. On 18th January 2017, Som was booked for spreading clips from the riots as part of a documentary. In October 2022, a Gautam Budh Nagar court found Som guilty of giving hate speech and convicted him under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) and was released after paying a fine.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)