Sangeet Som, former UP legislator, spews venom against Mughal ruler Aurangzeb accusing him of committing atrocities on Hindus and demolishing temples
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Hindutva leader and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) former legislator in Uttar Pradesh, Sangeet Som, has made controversial and provocative statements. He stated that the historic mosques in Mathura and Varanasi will be demolished just like the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya was pulled down by a Hindutva mob in 1992.
“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,” Som, a former MLA from Sardhana, told an event to celebrate Holi at Dashratpur village in Meerut on Wednesday.
After making the statement, Som asked the gathering whether they agreed with his statement and they all raised their hands in affirmation and raised ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and other Hindu slogans.
Som 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. Som’s statements were welcomed by his supporters who showered rose petals on him and raised inflammatory and provocative slogans.
The Hindutva leader accused Mughal ruler Aurangzeb of committing atrocities on Hindus and demolishing 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.
“Time has come to remove the traces of Aurangzeb and we will not take support of the court in cases related to Kashi and Mathura,” remarked Som.
The BJP leader is not new to such communal remarks and activities. In 2013, he was accused of playing a role in the communal violence that erupted in Muzaffarnagar.
He was booked under the National Security Act on 24 September 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 18 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). He was released after paying a fine.
