On Sunday, 17th November, ahead of the Maharashtra elections, actress and ‘feminist’ Swara Bhaskar indicated that no caste or religion should become a barrier to following and respecting Prophet Mohammed.
“It’s true that I was born into a Hindu family and it’s true that I married a Muslim. But I want to make it clear that it doesn’t matter which caste or religion you were born into to have respect for Prophet Muhammad,” said Swara while campaigning for her husband Fahad Ahmad, the NCP (SP) candidate from Mumbai’s Anushakti Nagar assembly seat.
The video of the incident is making rounds on social media in which she can be heard saying, “Those who are repeatedly questioning the faith and religion of my husband, today I would like to ask them- Where was your faith when Anil Rathod arranged a gathering for Nitesh Rane here, where he insulted your Holy Prophet? Then where was your faith? Where was your faith when the rapists of Bilkis Bano were garlanded by BJP leaders?”
Listen to the venomous speech of Begum Suara …
— BALA (@erbmjha) November 18, 2024
Hence proved Naya naya Mulla Allah Allah bohot karta hai. pic.twitter.com/Y9xwJDoiVa
During the campaign, Bhasker allegedly provoked the public by indicating that BJP’s Nitesh Rane had practiced blasphemy by allegedly insulting Prophet Mohammed. In September, Alt-News Co-founder Mohammed Zubair had also dog whistled against Rane after he reacted to ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans across the state by Jihandis against Ramgiri Maharaj. He had claimed that Rane had made an anti-Muslim speech while justifying the alleged blasphemous remarks made by Ramgiri Maharaj.
Notably, the statement by Swara came a day after she met radical Islamic cleric Sajjad Nomani along with her husband Fahad Ahmed. Nomani has been calling upon the Muslim community to vote en masse for the NCP-Congress-Sena alliance (Maha Vikas Aghadi).
In the viral clip, recorded on Thursday, 14th November, Nomani was heard saying, “If it (BJP) loses in Maharashtra, then, the government in Delhi (a reference to Centre) will not survive for long. Our target is not just Maharashtra. It is the Central government (markazii-hukuumat) and the future of India,” he appealed to the Muslim community. He then heaped praises on the leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi including Sharad Pawar, Udhhav Thackeray, Rahul Gandhi, and Nana Patole.
In May this year, Sajjad Nomani had infamously claimed, “If you don’t exercise your right in the correct direction, your nation is such that it will forget the Rohingyas. The leader of this country has a plan to put an end to the Waqf system in this country. It is you who will save our Madarsas and Masjids and Mazars. This one plan of Modi is going to cause danger to the entire Muslim community,” he alleged.
Swara Bhaskar caught up with Sajjad Nomani in the hopes that he would appeal to his fellow radical supporters to vote for her husband Fahad Ahmed who is contesting from Mumbai’s Anushakti Nagar assembly seat. In a forwarded attempt to seek votes for her husband, she on 17th November stated that no caste or religion should become a barrier to following and respecting Prophet Mohammed.
