They are specifically concerned about the impact such incidents will have on the morale of the soldiers if unchecked
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – After five former chiefs of staff of the armed forces and over a hundred other influential people wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging them to take appropriate measures against “open call for genocide of Indian Muslims” at a Dharm Sansad in Haridwar, three retired Army officers moved the Supreme Court against the hate conclave of Hindu monks.
A writ petition has been filed by Major General SG Vombatkere, Colonel PK Nair and Major Priyadarshi Chowdhury through Advocates, Senthil Jagadeesan and Vinayak Bhandari in this regard, reports Live Law.
The retired officers of the armed forces approached the apex court seeking probe by a new special investigation team (SIT) into the hate speeches delivered at ‘religious’ events organised in Haridwar and Delhi between 17 and 19 December, 2021.
“The petitioners are specially concerned that such incidents, if go unchecked, can have a serious impact on the morale and integration of the soldiers in armed forces who come from diverse communities and religions. From their personal experience, it is felt that such hate speeches can even affect the battle efficiency of our armed forces, and in turn compromise national security,” read the petition.
The concern that compelled the retired army chiefs and officers to speak out against hate mongering by Hindu monks against a particular community while on the one hand speaks volumes about the mentality of such people, and in turn amounts to compromising with the national integrity on the other.
The three-day ‘Dharam Sansad’ was organised in Haridwar on December 17-19, where extremely provocative speeches inciting genocide against Muslims were made by the Hindu monks gathered there from different places. The event held at Ved Niketan Dham in the holy city was hosted by Yati Narasinghanand, a controversial priest at Dasna temple in Ghaziabad known for his hate-spewing statements against Muslims.
The saffron-clad monks, addressing the conclave, voiced their demand for a Hindu rashtra and even threatened to kill the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for siding with the minorities, especially Muslims.
Anand Swaroop Maharaj, a Hindu leader and the president of Varanasi-based outfit Shankaracharya Parishad threatened a revolt on the lines of the 1857 freedom movement if the government did not listen to their demand of Hindu Rashtra.
Following an outrage against the hate event, Swami Dharamdas and Sadhvi Annapurna, along with Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi (Waseem Rizvi), who converted to Hinduism recently, were booked by the police.
