50 anti-Muslim rallies held across Maharashtra in last 4 months, says report

In Maharashtra, at least 50 anti-Muslim rallies were held in the last four months in almost all of the state’s 36 districts.

The anti-Muslim rallies by the Hindu-right wing organization ‘Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha’ followed a set pattern: a brief march through the heart of the city, amid a sea of saffron flags and caps, followed by a short rally, where speakers on a makeshift dais attack minorities, invoke “love jihad”, “land jihad”, “forced conversions”, and call for the economic boycott of the Muslim community, The Indian Express report said.

Earlier, BJP said that it would stay away from these rallies, however, its members were seen widely participating the anti-Muslim events including the local BJP MLA and MP. The speeches, however, are largely delivered by right-wing hardliners, including suspended BJP leader and Telangana MLA T Raja Singh, Kalicharan Maharaj and Kajal Hindustani — at least two of them (Singh and Maharaj) face hate speech cases both in the state and elsewhere.