LUCKNOW: Barely 24 hours after quitting the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, Swami Prasad Maurya is faced with an arrest warrant in a seven-year-old case related to his alleged hate speech in 2014.
The warrant was issued by the MP/MLA court of Sultanpur after Maurya jumped the non-bailable warrant issued against him by it on January 6.
Maurya is accused of inciting religious enmity through his speech in 2014. He was a BSP MLA at that time. As per sources, Maurya’s utterings were in connection with Lord Ganesha and Goddess Gauri, an incarnation of Goddess Durga.
“Goddess Gauri or Lord Ganesha should not be worshipped during weddings. It is a conspiracy by the system dominated by the upper castes to mislead and enslave SCs and backward castes,” Maurya had reportedly said at a gathering then.
A case was registered against Maurya on November 22, 2014, under Section 295 A of IPC (Malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings).