In yet another brazen attempt to incite communal violence against Muslims in the state, Pramod Muthalik, the chief of the extremist Hindu outfit Sri Ram Sena said that the Jumma Masjid in Karnataka’s Gadag “should be demolished,” in a similar way that Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya.
Speaking in Gadag on Sunday, October 17, at an event on alleged religious conversions, Muthalik said, “We had to fight for 72 years for Ram Temple in Ayodhya. After 72 long years, Babri Masjid was removed and Ram Temple will be built there. Similarly, a new campaign will start to demolish the Jumma Masjid in Gadag to build Venkateshwara Temple”.
Muthalik’s threat comes just three weeks after the brutal murder and beheading of a Muslim man in Belagavi by members of the Sri Ram Sena Hindustan, a breakaway offshoot of his organisation.
Who are the Sri Ram Sena?
The Sri Ram Sena that first cropped up in the 1960s has a long history of violence. Its supporters have been frequently caught committing violent acts including vandalism of an exhibition of M F Hussain’s paintings in Delhi in 2008.
In January 2009 its members beat up a group of young women and men after barging inside a pub in Mangalore in 2009.
Ram Sena’s name also surfaced during an investigation into 2006 Malegaon terror blasts.
In January 2012, seven people from the Sena were arrested in Bijapur, Karnataka, for raising Pakistan’s national flag on a government building. They were charged with trying to create tension in the town, which has a sizeable Muslim population.
This story first appeared on thecognate.com