The police in Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar said on Monday they are going through transcripts of the speech made by BJP leader T Raja Singh at Mira Road on Sunday, suspecting he made some communal remarks. According to a senior police officer, after analysing the speech, they will take legal opinion on whether action should be taken against him.
T Raja Singh was denied police permission for a rally in Mira Road, where communal clashes took place last month, but was later allowed by the Bombay High Court on grounds that he would not indulge in any hate speech. The Telangana MLA had given a written undertaking to the zonal DCP that he would not indulge in hate speech.
A senior officer said, “The entire speech was video recorded and we will be going through it again and seek legal opinion on whether he has violated the undertaking.” The officer added, “It prima facie appears that at certain points he has used some words and phrases that could violate his undertaking but we will decide after going through the video again.”
An officer said a few thousand people, primarily youngsters, attended the rally organised by the Sakal Hindu Samaj which took place in the evening. The rally ended at 7.30 pm, just a few hours before the commencement of Shab-e-Baraat, when Muslims spend the night praying in mosques.
Addressing the audience from the top of an open truck, Singh reportedly spoke for over 40 minutes about Chhatrapati Shivaji during which he allegedly used some derogatory words referring to the Muslim community. He also asked people to vow to work for a Hindu Rashtra, and fight against jihad, conversion, and cow slaughter.
He reportedly urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to “liberate” Shivaji’s forts from the mosques he claimed were built there illegally.
Mira Road BJP MLA Geeta Jain also reportedly addressed the rally, and spoke about how Hindu unity had shown them their place.
After the communal clashes last month, both Singh and AIMIM leader Waris Pathan had announced they would visit Mira Road on January 19 on Shiv Jayanti. However, while Singh later said he would come on January 25, Pathan tried to enter Mira Road but was detained by the police.
Last Friday, the Bombay High Court directed the Mira Road police to grant permission to Singh by imposing terms and conditions for conducting a rally to commemorate the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji on Sunday. The High Court also quashed and set aside orders passed by the police on February 19 and 20, refusing permission to the organisers to conduct the rally. The court also asked police to record the entire procession and the speeches at the rally.