LUCKNOW: The Samajawadi Party on Wednesday called the BJP the "biggest enemy of brotherhood" asking its government in UP why a seer who openly threatened to rape women from a particular religion has not been arrested till now.
Bajrang Muni Das, the mahant of the Maharshi Shri Lakshman Das Udaseen Ashram in Khairabad town in Sitapur, had allegedly made a hate speech against Muslims on April 2, a video of which later surfaced on social media platforms.
"Why are the police still empty handed? The government should answer. When will the bulldozer run on the accused? The CM should tell," the party asked in a tweet.
The post was followed by another tweet by SP president Akhilesh Yadav in which he asked Yogi Adityanath to act against the criminals hiding behind the saint's robe.
"People expect the UP chief Minister to take action against those who sully a saint's robe and wear it to hide their criminal acts -- the land grabbing and disturbing of peace," he said.
In the two-minute video of the inciting speech made outside a mosque, Das could be heard using the term "jehadi" to refer to a particular community, and threatening them if any Hindu girl is harassed by any man of that community, he would himself rape their women.
A case was registered against Das over his remarks. "Police will initiate action after collection of evidence and inquiry," Additional Superintendent of Police Sitapur Rajiv Dikshit had earlier said.
Das has been booked under sections of Indian Penal Code sections related to hate speech and derogatory statements.
Hours after the case was registered against him, another video surfaced online in which Das was shown making an apology saying that his statement was presented in a "wrong way".
"My statement has been presented in a wrong way. I seek unconditional apology for the same," he said in the video.
The National Commission for Women has also sought his arrest and reprimanded police saying it cannot be a "mute spectator".