Hours after the Uttar Pradesh administration demolished the property of Javed Mohammad, an activist associated with the Welfare Party of India, politicians expressed their contempt for the move on Sunday, 12 June.
Mohammad is accused of being the main conspirator of the violent protests that erupted in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj over the remarks of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Spokesperson Nupur Sharma against Prophet Muhammad.
He was taken into custody by the UP Police on Friday, 10 June, along with his wife Parveen and daughter Sumaiya. His other daughter, Afreen Fatima, claimed in a video that the police came without a warrant or an official letter and detained her father.
Meanwhile, the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) alleged in its notice that Mohammad's house had been "illegally constructed."
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the process of law is fundamental to democracy.
Tharoor tweeted on Sunday:
“Shocked to receive this from JNU with the update that the family’s home has been demolished. Due process of law is fundamental to democracy. Under what law & following what process has this been done? Has UP exempted itself from the Constitution of India?”
Owaisi Points Out Double Standard
Reacting to the demolition of Javed Mohammad’s house, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday, expressed his solidarity with Afreen Fatima and her family.
He added that the house of UP Minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son, who is accused of killing at least 5 people, is safe, but being a vocal Muslim is a crime.
Owaisi tweeted:
“In solidarity with Afreen Fatima and her family. Teni’s son is accused of killing 5 people. SC has cancelled his bail. But his house is safe. Yati and his accomplices are roaming freely. Cops carrying out custodial torture receive laurels but being a vocal Muslim is a crime.”
'State Sponsored Harassment': AISA
Calling the demolition drive a “witch-hunting of Muslim voices,” the All Indian Students Association (AISA) also expressed its solidarity with Afreen Fatima and her family against “state sponsored harassment.”
“AISA condemns the witch-hunting of Muslims and protesters by police forces across the nation under the grab of arresting ‘conspirators’ of the protests that took place on the 10 June,” the association said in a statement released on Twitter.
“While hatemongers who repeatedly give genocidal calls against Indian Muslims roam around scot-free in this country, the targetting of Muslim minorities in this case has to be seen as a deliberate act of harassment and reflective of the BJP government’s communal agenda,” it added.
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