Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was on Thursday booked by the city police following a complaint against him for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslim community by giving “provocative” statements on the Ayodhya issue.
An All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)leader has filed a complaint against Art of Living founder ‘Sri Sri’ Ravi Shankar for his ‘Syria in India’ comments in resolving the Ram Janmabhoomi – Babri Masjid logjam.
The complaint was filed by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Tauhid Siddiqui in Lucknow, news agency ANI reported.
“The complaint against the spiritual guru, who has been trying for a solution to the Ayodhya dispute through mediation, was filed by Salahuddin Affan, secretary of the city-based Darsgah Jihad-O-Shahadat (DJS),” Moghalpura police station Inspector R Devendar said.
In the complaint, Affan claimed Ravi Shankar gave “provocative” statements against the Muslim community over the Ayodhya row with an intention to hurt religious feelings and beliefs of its members, he said.
The complainant alleged that the 61-year-old spiritual leader had stated that “if the court rules against a temple (in Ayodhya), there will be bloodshed in the country and India will have a Syria- like situation”. This statement was given with an intention to disturb communal harmony in the country, Affan said.
On Monday, the Art of Living founder, in an interview with a leading television channel, had said that any delay in resolving the Ram temple issue could result in a Syria-like situation in India. “If the Ram Mandir issue is not solved, we will have a Syria in India,” Ravi Shankar said during the interview.
Listen Statement of SriSri in Jabalpur…
Video Courtesy : Art of Living
This comment by the spiritual leader invited a lot of criticism from all political spheres. On Tuesday, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the spiritual leader for his ‘Syria-like situation in India’ remark. Owaisi said that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar feels so big about himself that everyone should listen to what he says, ANI reported. “He does not believe in the constitution, he does not believe in the law. He feels he is the law himself. He feels he is so big that everyone should listen to what he says. He is not neutral,” he added.
The Shiv Sena too had come down hard on his remarks. “In the Ayodhya matter, gurumaharaj has issued a threat. He has tried to create panic by predicting the future. He has given license to chaos by attaching ISIS to the Ram Mandir issue. This must be investigated. Such statements do not suit a spiritual guide,” read an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.
However, the spiritual guru had on March 6 clarified that he had cited Syria just as an example. “It was a point of view, and not threat. There is no point in giving a threat. I cannot imagine it even in my dreams. We want peace, and an atmosphere of harmony…I feel that the situation which is prevailing in other countries, should never arise in our country. We are working in those countries,” he had told reporters at Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.
Ravi Shankar has been booked under IPC section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), the Inspector said. A similar complaint was also registered against the well-known religious figure with the Saidabad police station, another police official said.
Ravi Shankar has met a number of community leaders as part of his efforts to find an out-of-court settlement to the vexed Ayodhya issue. “There is a lot of goodwill and cooperation from the Muslim community (in resolving the issue),” he had said recently.
In the past year, Ravi Shankar had met over 500 leaders in Ayodhya, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and other places personally and through video conferencing as part of his mediation efforts.
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