Registration of case against Awhad for Ram Navami remarks is an attack on freedom of speech: NCP's Supriya Sule

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], April 23 (ANI): Referring to the registration of a case by the BJP against NCP leader Jitendra Awhad for his remarks on Ram Navami, NCP leader and member of parliament from Baramati in Pune district Supriya Sule on Sunday said it is an attack on freedom of speech and she would raise it in Parliament.
While speaking to ANI, Supriya Sule said, "The action against Jitendra Awhad is unfortunate. Baba Saheb Ambedkar gave us one of the finest constitutions. It gave us freedom of speech but unfortunately, the dispensation right now here is that anyone who says anything gets a notice.
"I would raise this issue in parliament to bring it to the notice of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and State HM Devendra Fadnavis. The Freedom of speech is a right in our constitution. People are being booked left right and centre so we must raise our voice against it, I back anybody who is a citizen of the country," she added.
Earlier Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jitendra Awhad on Friday claimed that such was the prevailing situation in the country that it seems that festivals such as Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti are only for riots.
"It seems that the festivals of Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti are for riots only. The law and order situation across cities has deteriorated due to riots. I think we will see more such riots in the coming years," he said.
In the aftermath of the NCP leader's comments Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Secretary Advocate Vivekanand Gupta on Saturday filed a complaint with Thane police and Mumbai Police against senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jitendra Awhad for his remarks on Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti.
In the letter written to the police, Gupta stated, "The statement made by Awhad is not only provocative but is an attempt to create communal riots in the state. The said statement has also hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. His statement is a deliberate attempt to promote religious enmity between different groups."
The NCP leader's remark comes less than a month after clashes broke out during Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal's Howrah district.
Similar clashes and flare-ups were also reported in Bihar's Patna Sharif around religious processions on the occasion of Ram Navami.
In the violence that unfolded in West Bengal around Ram Navami celebrations, several vehicles were set on fire. Rioters also allegedly vandalised public and private properties. (ANI)