Dogs bark, but the lion does not care, says AIMIM leader Waris Pathan
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Upping his threatening language against the Muslim community, Nitish Rane, BJP legislator from Maharashtra’s Kankavli, said if the police were sent on leave for one day, Hindus would show their strength.
In a video shared by the news agency IANS on the social media platform X, Rane can be heard saying, “…give the police a day off, and Hindus will show their strength… next time you come across a case of love jihad, find the person and break his bones. Call me, as it is my responsibility to ensure that nothing will happen to you.” Rane, the BJP leader notorious for his diatribe against Muslims, was addressing a gathering in Sangli on Thursday.
When the media asked Rane about the hate speech, he clarified his stance, saying that he was present at the event not as an MLA or a party worker but as a Hindu to talk about Hindus, media reports reaching here said on Friday.
“I am not here as an MLA or a party worker but as a Hindu to speak to the Hindu community. I am doing my religious duty. Today, our religion is being challenged. As a Hindu, I am standing my ground and fighting for my religion, as stones are being pelted at us.”
Tagging DGP Maharashtra, the state police and SP Sangli, fact-checker Mohammaed Zubair tweeted: Will the state police turn a blind when BJP leaders continue to give Anti Muslim hate speeches? BJP leader Nitesh Rane says, “Send police on 24 hours leave. We Hindus will come out to show our strength.”
Reacting sharply to Rane’s statement, AIMIM leader Waris Pathan said, “Dogs bark, but the lion does not care. Rane asked to remove the police for 24 hours. I want to ask him what he would do in those 24 hours. If I had said the same thing, I would be in jail right now.”
“According to SC guidelines, this is provocative speech but Maharashtra government will not take any action on it. The government wants to incite communal violence before Maharashtra elections, “Pathan said further.
Pathan also lashed out at Rane for his comments on September 2 in Ahmednagar during a rally by Sakal Hindu Samaj where the BJP leader said that those who even dare to touch or look at Ramgiri Maharaj with wrong intention will be “thrashed inside a mosque (masjid mein ghus ke maarenge).”
In a video message uploaded on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Pathan warned Nitesh and said that “if he (Nitesh) dares to enter a mosque as he claims, he won’t be able to walk out on his own and will have to be carried on a stretcher.”
Earlier this month, two FIRs were registered against Rane for delivering inflammatory speeches on two separate occasions in Ahmednagar.
Amid the controversy over his hate speeches, NCP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said that if Rane does not stop, he will take the matter to New Delhi.
However, Rane retorted, saying that Pawar can complain to whomever he wants, as Hindutva is non-negotiable. He further said that while he expects Pawar to complain about his speeches, he would also raise his voice and condemn those who threw stones at Ganesh processions.
As per reports, police arrested 15 people for allegedly pelting stones at a Ganesh festival procession in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city on the final day of the festival. Three women and two men were injured in the incident in the Pundaliknagar area on Tuesday.
