Call Central forces if needed: Calcutta HC to Bengal govt over non-stop violence in state on Prophet row – India Today

The Calcutta High Court has asked the West Bengal government to take strict measures to stop violence in the state following the controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad by the now-suspended BJP leaders. The High Court has also asked it to call in central forces if needed, before the situation goes out of control.

In its order, the High Court said, “Having regard to the apprehension which has been expressed, we direct the State authorities to assess the ground situation in advance and take steps to call for the Central Forces in terms of earlier directions in case if the need so arises, before the situation goes out of control or before any loss of life or property takes place.”

The Calcutta HC stated that state authorities should take all possible preventive steps to ensure that no such incident takes place.

“The State authorities will also take expeditious steps to collect the video footages and take action in terms of the above-mentioned provisions of the Act of 1972. Let the further report in this regard be filed by the State on or before the next date of hearing,” the order added.

The order was given by the division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Rajarshi Bharadwaj, in connection with a petition filed seeking deployment of central forces in Bengal.

PROPHET REMARKS CONTROVERSY

Towards the end of May, Nupur Sharma, then a spokesperson for the BJP, had commented on Prophet Muhammad during a TV debate, sparking a massive outrage globally. As the clip from the debate went viral, at least 14 nations, including Qatar, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, slammed India over the comments.

The BJP, in an attempt to control the damage, suspended Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, who had put out tweets in her support, from the party.

Following this, the BJP also formed new guidelines for its representatives appearing on TV shows. Only official spokespersons are now being allowed to appear on TV debates. Moreover, the spokespersons have been asked not to speak about religious symbols and practices.