Case against Cong MLA for anti-Macron protest in Bhopal

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh government has finally taken action  against Congress MLA Arif Masood, who had recently held an "anti-Macron" protest march at the Iqbal Maidan in the Madhya Pradesh capital. A case has been filed against Masood and "construction carried out as encroachment" near the university named after the Congress MLA has been demolished.

A few days ago, a protest march led by Arif Masood was taken out by nearly 2,000 people, including clerics, at Iqbal Maidan against French President Emmanuel Macron's stand after a teacher was killed in France for showing a cartoon on Prophet Mohammed in his class. Macron's comments after the incident caused widespread protests in several Muslim countries and also in France.

The police registered a case against seven persons, including Arif Masood, on Wednesday evening for inciting the religious sentiments of people. The administration has also demolished the encroachment to a building in the Khanugaon area. This building was inside the premises of the university built by Masood.

Minister of state for Home Narottam Mishra said, "If there is an illegal encroachment anywhere it will be removed. The administration will do its job."

Taking a dig at the anti-Macron protest in Bhopal, Mishra said, "I can't understand why Congress MLA Arif Masood held a protest march in Bhopal. The incident took place in France, if he was feeling so outraged he should have gone there. Are there no people from the minority community living in France, Muslims perform prayers (namaz) five times a day here. There was peace in Madhya Pradesh before the protest march was held. Why is the Congress trying to spread communal hatred and religious polarisation, why has Kamal Nath remained  silent over this? If the protest was ethical, then say it was justified and if not then say it was wrong."