How it all started: Tiwari commented on Azam’s reaction to Jaitley’s remarks on SC gay sex ruling

On November 30, ABHM ‘working president’ Kamlesh Tiwari issued a press statement, slamming Azam for his comment against the RSS.

Written by Mohd Faisal Fareed
Lucknow | December 16, 2015 12:19 AM IST

3 min read

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THE ORIGIN of the raging controversy over self-proclaimed Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) working president’s remarks against Prophet Muhammad was a comment that state Minister Azam Khan had made while reacting to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that Supreme Court’s judgment against gay sex needs to be reconsidered.

Speaking at Times Litfest in New Delhi on November 28, Jaitley had said: “When you have millions of people involved in this (gay sex), you can’t nudge them off.” He had added: “Jurisprudence world over is evolving, I thinks the judgment was not correct and, probably at some stage, they may have to reconsider.”

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A day later, Azam told mediapersons in Rampur: “Kyon yeh matlab samjhe, zaroori thodi hai sarey lok unki vichardhara key ho, RSS per tou ilzam hi yeh hai, isiliye shadi byah nahi karte. (Why should we consider this, it is not necessary that everybody holds their view… RSS faces such allegations, perhaps that’s why they do not marry)”

On November 30, ABHM ‘working president’ Kamlesh Tiwari issued a press statement, slamming Azam for his comment against the RSS. He also made objectionable comments against the Prophet. Two days later, he again posted inflammatory comments on Facebook while reacting to protests by Muslims on his statement.

On December 1, a Hindi daily published from Lucknow, carried a report on Tiwari’s statement.

The press release issued by Tiwari was also published by Delhi-based Urdu newspaper Akhbar-e-Mashriq, which is circulated in Deoband and Saharanpur, on December 2.

The first major protest against Tiwari’s comments on the Prophet was held in Deoband, which was attended by students of Islamic seminary, Darul Uloom in Deoband. “We got the information after reading Akhbar-e-Mashriq. Some youths showed me the paper and informed me about the protest. I reached Deoband and ensured that no violence takes place during the protest,” said Maviya Ali, Chairman of Deoband Municipal Board. Ali was injured when a loudspeaker fell on his head during the protest.

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Meanwhile, Lucknow Police arrested Tiwari from his residence in Naka area on the night of December 2. He was produced before the magistrate and sent to jail in early hours to avoid a law and order situation.