Plea in Supreme Court seeks to stop event in Delhi calling for India to be declared Hindu Rashtra

An urgent application was moved in the Supreme Court against an event proposed to be held today in Delhi where speakers will publicly proclaim and affirm a resolution for India to be turned into a Hindu Rashtra (Qurban Ali v. Union of India)..The application filed on Thursday was part of an earlier petition filed in the apex court seeking a probe into the alleged hate speech targeting the Muslim community delivered at the Haridwar Dharam Sansad last year.The matter was mentioned before the Bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar, by Advocate Rashmi Singh. The Court asked the petitioners to approach the authorities and to show them its earlier orders in the Dharam Sansad matter. The plea will be heard next on Monday, May 9..As per the petitioners, an event is being organized at Talkatora Stadium, Delhi today at 5:00pm where one Shankaracharya of Puri and ‘Mahant’ of the Sri Govardhan Math, Nischalananda Saraswati, will, according to this web poster released by the Sudarshan News channel, publicly state and affirm a resolution for the country to become a Hindu Rashtra. "A video of Suresh Chavankhe asking Hindus to attend the said event is also available on social media," the plea reads. .The plea mentioned that Chavhanke had earlier also delivered such a hate speech in Delhi and the top court had asked the police to file a better affidavit in the plea challenging such a speech. .[Delhi Dharam Sansad] Delhi Police to file fresh affidavit after Supreme Court unhappy with 'no hate speech' affidavit .The application stated that the key speaker of the event scheduled to be held at Talkotara Stadium is "one Nischalananda Saraswati who has in the past frequently given hate speeches and also called for the end of Muslims and Christians.".The application filed through Advocate Sumita Hazarika contended that a direction from the top court would be necessary to stem this growing tide of communalism, "particularly to put into place mechanisms for timely preventive action to be taken against persons who have openly declared their intention to organize public events and wantonly give provocative speeches inciting violence, promoting enmity between groups.".The Court is seized of petitions seeking a probe into the alleged hate speech targeting the Muslim community delivered at the Haridwar Dharam Sansad and the Delhi Dharam Sansad. The petitioners had subsequently filed applications pointing out similar such gatherings scheduled in other cities..The plea before the top court was filed after two separate events were organised - one in Delhi by the Hindu Yuva Vahini, and another at Haridwar by Yati Narsinghanand - and hate speeches were made, consisting of open calls for genocide of Muslims to achieve ethnic cleansing.The petitions had contended that "no action whatsoever has been taken by the Delhi Police in relation with the event held in Delhi despite the fact that open calls for genocide, that are available on the internet, were made therein."The Supreme Court had issued notice in the matter on January 12.