It remains to be seen whether Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s government would book RSS Pracharak Ishwar Lal for his vitriolic remarks in the wake of clear Supreme Court guidelines against hate speeches
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — An RSS Pracharak (publicist) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader has vowed to convert 30,000 mosques into temples and made hate speeches targeting Muslims at an event in Rajasthan.
The video of RSS Pracharak Ishwar Lal’s hate speeches has gone viral on social media courtesy of Hindutva Watch, a Twitter handle that tracks hate crimes.
“Across the country, we have built Ram temple but Krishna birthplace and Kashi Vishwanath temple are yet to be liberated. Thirty thousand temples were destroyed to build mosques. We will have to liberate these 30,000 temples,” said Lal.
It remains to be seen whether Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s government in the state would book Lal for his vitriolic remarks in the wake of clear Supreme Court guidelines against hate speeches.
On April 28, the apex court termed hate speech a serious offence capable of affecting the secular fabric of the country. It also extended the scope of its 2022 order and directed all states and Union Territories to register hate speech cases even if no complaint was made.
The Supreme Court also warned that delay in registering hate speech cases would be treated as contempt of court.
“Irrespective of the caste, community, or religion of the maker of the speech, no one can be allowed to break the law,” the court said.
Ahead of assembly elections, Rajasthan has been witnessing a rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric, hate speeches and communal clashes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans to dislodge the Congress government in the state.
Lal uploaded the video on his YouTube channel named ‘Ishwar Pracharak’. The title of his video is ‘Bajrang Dal ka Parichay’.
This is not the first time Lal has talked about converting 30,000 mosques into temples. In January, he made similar vows while addressing an event in Rajasthan’s Lohawat.
“We have made the Ram Temple and now we have to convert thirty thousand more mosques into temples,” Lal had said while addressing a Trishul Deeksha event — an event organised by Hindutva group Bajrang Dal where Trishuls (tridents) were distributed among Hindus.
In his latest speech, Lal urged people to watch the controversial movie ‘The Kerala Story’ claiming that this was the real story as dozens of Hindus were entrapped by Muslims from his area too.
He demanded the enforcement of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) spitefully remarking that Muslims marry four women and give birth to 25 children.
“It is not acceptable that Hindus will have two children after getting married to a woman while they (Muslims) will have 25-30 children after getting married to four women,” he said.
He also claimed that Pakistan was formed after the partition and Muslims have 57 countries while Hindus don’t have any country of their own. “This is a secular country. This country is secular till it has a population of Hindus. The day it will have a lesser number of Hindus, it will become an Islamic country,” he claimed.
He also vowed to bring in population control law and claimed that Pakistan and Bangladesh were formed due to the weakness of the then leadership. He urged people to make ‘Akhand Bharat’ after the unification of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In his earlier speech in Lohawat, he had called for declaring India ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and urged a boycott of halal products.
“Never buy halal products. Who gets the money? Muslims,” Lal had said.
On his YouTube channel, Lal keeps unloading his speeches. It has over 35,000 subscribers.
