Targeting Owaisi's Home, Manhandling Yechury: Meet Right-Wing Petitioner Of Ajmer Dargah
The world-famous India’s most revered Islamic shrine, Ajmer Dargah, recently gained public limelight when a local court on November 27 admitted a petition filed by Vishnu Gupta, the national president of the Hindu Sena, seeking a survey of the shrine, claiming it was an ancient temple to Lord Shiva at the site.
Taking the plea into consideration, the court issued notices to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the Ajmer Dargah Committee while listing the case for December 20. Notably, looking at the history and background of the petitioner, many wonder how the court can move so fast on such pleas.
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History Of Ajmer Petitioner Vishnu Gupta And His Outfit Hindu Sena
Known for multiple criminal cases and indecent activities, Gupta has a history of manhandling and assaulting leaders opposing Hindutva politics, such as advocate Prasanth Bhushan and late CPIM leader Sitaram Yechury. The chief of Hindu Sena has also been linked to targeting AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s Delhi residence, defacing the signboards of the Islamic Cultural Centre in Delhi, among others. There are multiple FIRs against Gupta and his outfits, reports Indian Express.
Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah, Gupta moved to Delhi at a young age and joined Shiv Sena’s youth wing while studying. In 2011, Gupta, along with a couple of others, founded the outfit Hindu Sena. The group claims it has lakhs of members and units across the country. Regarding the police cases against the Hindu Sena chief, Gupta faced charges in 2011 for assaulting lawyer and activist Prasanth Bhushan at his chamber in court.
In 2015, Gupta was arrested for allegedly providing false information that the Kerala house in Delhi served beef. In 2017, the Hindu Sena chief faced FIR for allegedly barging into CPI(M) headquarters and manhandling late party national chief Sitaram Yechury. In 2020, police filed a case against Gupta on Delhi Municipal Cooperation’s complaint for defacing the signboard of the India Islamic Centre while pasting a poster reading ‘Jihadi Terrorist Islamic Centre’. In 2021, members of Gupta’s outfit were arrested for damaging the residence of the Hyderabad MP, Assadudheen Owaisi.
There have been cases in 2022 and 2023 against the Hindu Sena chief for his hate speech and distribution of swords in a temple at an event organised in support of Nupur Sharma after the BJP suspended its the latter following her objectionable remark against prophet Muhammed.
Gupta has also approached courts several times including in the case claiming Gyanvapi mosque complex, seeking ban on the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Modi’s and the 2002 Gujarat riot and demanding the removal of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal as Delhi’s chief minister.
Read Also: Muslim Body Demands Supreme Court To Stop Lower Courts From Accepting Ajmer, Sambhal-Like Petitions
After the court sent notice to the Ajmer shrine committee, Syed Sarwar Chishty, the custodian of the dargah, rejected the Hindutva group’s claim, stating that it was not a joke that “every other day criminals come forward with a new claim.” He said the Dargah has been a place of worship for all religions, adding that it will remain such. Notably, a large number of worshippers, irrespective of their religious backgrounds, have been visiting the Sufi shrine for centuries.
The shrine had been patronised by Mughal rulers, and noted leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, former US president Barack Obama, and former Afghanistan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani have either visited or sent sacred Chadar to the Dargah.
The successive Indian prime ministers have also sent Chadar to the revered Sufi shrines as a custom, and Prime Minister Modi, earlier this year, had sent the sacred Chadar to the Ajmer Dargah.
