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Seer launches tirade at Kashmir Files show in MP, says ‘stay away from jihadis like from Covid’

Swami Jitendranand made the remarks at a 'free' screening for ‘100 Hindu sisters and daughters’ in Barwani last week. Police say no complaint received so far.

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Lucknow: After a free screening of Vivek Agnihotri’s film The Kashmir Files for “100 Hindu sisters and daughters” in Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani last week, a self-proclaimed seer purportedly told the audience that “jihadis would eat up the country if they don’t wake up”. 

“Stay away from them like we stay away from the coronavirus,” Swami Jitendranand added. Seen gesturing towards a trident in his hands, he also purportedly said that had “Kashmiri Pandits become Kashmiri Hindus…10-10 jihadis would have been wiped out”.

“What has Lord Bholenath taught us?” he told the audience, which included children. “He taught us that to save yourself, what should you pick up?” he asked the gathering, which replied: “shastra (arms)”.

A video of the episode was uploaded on Facebook on 18 March by a fringe Hindutva outfit called the Sudarshan Vahini, which organised the screening. It contained clips of speeches made after the film which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the 1990s. The exact date of the screening was not immediately clear.

While some social media users labelled the episode an instance of hate speech, Barwani Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepak Shukla told ThePrint that they had not yet received any complaint regarding the incident. Appropriate action will follow if a complaint is received, he said. 

When contacted, Swami Jitendranand said he “loved Muslims” and was only opposed to “terrorism”. He also denied suggesting to the audience that they take up arms.

“About 8 lakh Muslims are our followers and we are ensuring their ghar wapsi (conversion to Hinduism). They are ours but I am against terrorism that has been spread by LeT, Hizbul Mujahideen and ISIS. Animosity is being spread not by me, but by those resorting to terrorism,” he added. 

He also claimed to be associated with the Dasna Devi Temple in Ghaziabad, and a supporter of its controversial head priest Yati Narsinghanand, who was arrested in January for an inflammatory speech made at a congregation in Haridwar last year. Narsinghanand was released on bail last month.

“He (Narsinghanand) is in UP and we are active elsewhere in places like Jharkhand, Odisha and Mumbai,” Jitendranand said.

Heavily promoted by the BJP, with several states offering tax exemptions, The Kashmir Files has become a topic of much wrangling between the ruling party and the Opposition. 

The incident follows a number of similar occurrences in other parts of the country, where incendiary slogans have reportedly been raised in theatres after screenings of the film. 


Also Read: Booking theatres, subsidising shows — how Maharashtra BJP leaders are pushing ‘The Kashmir Files’


The speech 

On 18 March, Vinod Sharma, the president of Sudarshan Vahini, shared videos of the screening on his Facebook page.

In one of them, Jitendranand is purportedly seen telling the audience: “Some Salman becomes Suresh, Rehman becomes Ramesh and then what do they do to our sisters-daughters? Love jihad…They attack us and hence so many parts of Bharat have been divided.”

“We think we are safe here, but you are safe only till the time they are not attacking you. You have made no preparation. Have you?” he is heard saying.

Asking the crowd to raise their voice if they “see any atrocity against a Hindu across the world”, he said that the Sudarshan Vahini, RSS, Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad “are standing for the protection of sisters”.

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)


Also Read: Rajya Sabha discussion on J&K Budget turns into debate on ‘Kashmir Files’, opposition slams BJP


 

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