Yati Narsinghanand courts controversy again, booked for hate speech at Hindu Mahasabha event in Delhi's Burari

Controversial Religious leader Yati Narsinghanand, who was earlier arrested in the Haridwar hate speech case and was later released on bail, has been booked again for allegedly delivering hate speeches at a "Hindu Mahapanchayat" in Delhi on Sunday.

The Delhi Police registered an FIR against Yati Narsinghanand under sections 153A [Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, etc.] and 188 of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR is registered for allegedly delivering a provocative speech at the mahapanchayat organised in Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar area on Sunday.

Late Sunday night, Delhi Police issued a statement saying an FIR has been lodged over the inflammatory speeches made. "Some of the speakers, including Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati and Suresh Chauhanke, Chief Editor of Sudarshan News, uttered words promoting hatred, feelings of enmity, disharmony or ill will between two communities," the FIR registered at the Mukharjee Nagar police station said.

In a video that has gone viral, the Dasna Devi temple priest can be heard saying, "To protect your sisters and daughters, take up arms, and a real man is the one who holds a weapon in his hand and loves it." Speaking at Delhi's Burari ground, addressing a crowd of nearly 500 people who came to participate in a 'Hindu mahapanchayat,' Narsinghanand said that if a Muslim is made prime minister, "50% of you (Hindus) will change your faith in the next 20 years".

He also said, "We have won Ram Janmabhoomi after the court battle, and a temple is also being built there. But every Muslim of this country has pledged that when Nizam is established in the country, then the first thing they will do is to destroy the Ram temple." During his speech, Yeti Narsinghanand even mentioned the polarising movie The Kashmir Files, pointing out that as Kashmiris had fled, leaving their land and property, sisters and daughters, a similar sight would be witnessed in the coming times in other places in the country. At the mahapanchayat, he also told the crowd that Hindus would have to have more children and teach them to fight.

 Yati Narsinghanand had earlier courted controversy by making derogatory remarks against women of a particular religion during a 3-day Dharma Sansad held in Haridwar in late 2021. A case was registered against him over the incident. He was arrested and later granted bail on February 8th after spending weeks in custody. The Hindu Mahapanchayat event in Delhi was organised by Preet Singh, founder of the Save India Foundation and one of the organisers of an event held at Jantar Mantar last year where anti-Muslim slogans were raised.