Social media users from outside the country fueled violence in Maharashtra and other states in reaction to his statements on prophet Muhammad in August 2024, said Mahant Ramgiri Maharaj in Mumbai on Monday.
Ramgiri Maharaj, Mahant of Goda Dham, Ahmednagar, who addressed a press conference along with former Mumbai Commissioner of Police, Satyapal Singh, said he will not apologise for his statements because he had repeated what was there in Islamic texts. The Hindu religious leader had made comments on the marriage between Muslim prophet and Ayesha during a convention at Sinnar, Nashik. The press conference was organised by Shiv Shambhu Vichar Manch, a socio- religious group.
More than 50 First Information Reports, including more than 10 in Mumbai, have been filed at police stations across the country by Muslims, alleging that their religious sentiments were hurt by the statements. The Mahant has been given police security after threats to his life.
He said that he was speaking to the media to draw attention to the role of social media accounts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia in instigating violence and damage of public property. "I have come here to inform the media that it has been revealed that international groups were behind the violence," said Ramgiri Maharaj. "Protestors shouted slogans like 'Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek hi daja, Sar tan se juda'."
Singh said that a study by Bhopal-based Social Media Research Centre found that global groups, political parties sympathetic to fanatical groups, and foreign countries instigated the violence in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and other states.
"There is an attempt to divide the country on lines of caste, religion, tribal, and Aryan-Dravidian," said Singh. "The remark was made in context of a long speech that Maharaj made. Political parties whose space is shrinking, NGOs, so-called intellectuals used a few sentences from his speech to make a huge and cry. They become active before elections "
When asked whether he believed that his statements hurt Muslims, Ramgiri Maharaj said that he had said what was known and discussed earlier and that he was entitled to his views. When questioned by media persons why the government had not investigated the findings by the Bhopal-based group, Maharaj said that law enforcement and investigation agencies are doing their work. He said he was no worried about a change in government.
