Hours after having granted bail by the Madhya Pradesh high court, an ‘unrelenting’ Congress MLA Arif Masood reached PCC office in Bhopal, to be greeted by aarti, mantras and tilak on his forehead.
Masood had been elusive since an arrest warrant was issued against him by a Bhopal court over his ‘instigating’ speech during a protest organised by him in the city against French president Emanuel Macron.
Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha and senior lawyer Ajay Gupta had presented Masood’s bail plea in the high court on Friday. A lower court had rejected his bail plea recently.
Among other things, MLA’s lawyers told the court that things mentioned in the FIR were not said by the MLA in his speech and why the second FIR was lodged six days after the first one.
Meanwhile, after the HC granted him bail, the MLA appeared at PCC and was accorded a grand welcome by his supporters amid chanting of mantras, aarti, a tilak put on his forehead and flowers.
“None reserves the right to disrespect any religious head and as our Nabi was insulted I had organised a protest which was peaceful. But the state government attacked me with malicious intent,” Masood told media persons after being granted bail.
There was no law and order issue still a case was slapped on me and when I secured bail, another one was registered by police against me, my institution was razed down, said Masood claiming it was all done to pressurise and terrorise me, added the Bhopal Madhya MLA.
Reposing faith in judiciary, Masood denied charges that his protest was meant to extend support to terror elements. “We are the ones who oppose terror elements but we always stand up against injustice,” he added.
He also affirmed that his struggle will continue despite state government trying to browbeat him.
The protest where the MLA had delivered the said speech was organised at historical Iqbal Maidan against French president’s alleged disrespectful words against Prophet Mohammed. The protest attended by Muslim clergies was joined by thousands of locals despite Covid19 guidelines.
