Hatemonger Yati Narsinghanand, out on bail in the Haridwar hate speech case, has delivered yet another hate speech at a 'religious' conclave in Una, Himachal Pradesh, violating the conditions of his bail. At the meet, the organisers gave an open call to Hindus to pick up arms. The speakers called for targeted killings of Muslims.
Satyadeva Saraswati, one of the organisers of the meeting, told NDTV that it was a private programme and there is no need to "get permission from the administration here".
"We don't believe in the law... We are not afraid of anyone... here we are telling the truth, not giving any hate speech," he added.
Arrested in January for organising an event in Haridwar that featured calls for genocide of Muslims, Yati Narsinghanand was released on bail on February 18.
One of his bail conditions is that he cannot "participate in such events", sources have said.
Earlier this month, however, Yati Narsinghanand gave a hate speech in Delhi's Burari, reiterating the call for use of weapons against Muslims.
A First Information Report naming him was lodged by the police, who said they had denied permission for the event, but the organisers still went ahead with the "Mahapanchayat Sabha" and around 700-800 people were present at the venue.
This time, in Una, several of the attendees, including one Sadhvi Annapurna, gave hate speeches, where they again exhorted the use of arms against Muslims.
"Sadhvi Annapurna" was named in the First Information Report filed regarding the case in Haridwar. She, along with others, was charged with promoting enmity between religious groups and defiling a place of worship.
Circulated on social media, the clips from the Haridwar event drew sharp criticism from former military chiefs, retired judges, activists and even tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
