New Delhi: Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh witnessed a massive protest on Friday as thousands of supporters of cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, the head of Ittehad-e-Millat Council, came out on the roads after the police detained the Muslim leader for his ‘Jail Bharo’ (fill the jail) call over the Gyanvapi case. The situation turned violent in the Shahmat Ganj area where stones were hurled, injuring one person, the police said. The District Magistrate said the police are probing the incident and will file a case.
Cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan had urged his followers to join him in surrendering to the police on Thursday as part of his ‘fill the jail’ movement over the Gyanvapi case.
#WATCH | Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh | Chief of Ittehad-e-Millat Council, Bareilly Sharif, Maulana Tauqeer Raza detained by Police. He had given a call for ‘Jail Bharo’ over Gyanvapi matter. pic.twitter.com/pLunB4wltv
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) February 9, 2024
The cleric also made provocative statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami and others over the Haldwani violence. He said, ‘Dhami has gone mad. If you run a bulldozer on our houses, we will protect ourselves. We have the legal right, if you attack us, we will kill you. This is our legal right. Now we will not tolerate any bulldozer.’
Cleric Blames Police, Admin For Haldwani Violence
Maulana also blamed the police and administration for the violence in Haldwani. Tauqeer said that no crime was committed in the madrasa-mosque. In such a case, the matter should have gone to the court, but instead they were demolished. Now Muslims will not let the bulldozer run.
Cleric Lashes Out At Supreme Court
Maulana Raza also lashed out at the Supreme Court. He said, ‘Our problem is more than that the Supreme Court is not taking cognizance of the diseases spread in the country. The bulldozer operation takes place. In such a case, it is the responsibility of the Supreme Court that if someone has committed a crime, he should be arrested, but if no crime has been committed in his building, then it should not be demolished.’
The cleric said in his provocative speech, ‘Bajrang Dal-Shiv Sena want to ruin our country. We will not stop against their dishonesty. We have started this movement from Bareilly and we will run this movement in the whole country, God willing.’
Cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan is a scholar of the Barelvi sect of Sunni Muslims. He also has his own organization, named Ittehad-e-Millat Council. He was earlier a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, but later separated saying that the Deobandi Muslims discriminated against him. After that, Maulana formed his own All India Muslim Personal Law Board (Jadid).