Lucknow: Hoardings were put up across the state capital on Thursday by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary in Uttar Pradesh (UP), showcasing India’s support to Israel in the war against Hamas, the militant group ruling the Gaza strip of Palestinian territories.
The hoardings that have a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli PM Benjamim Netanyahu sharing a warm handshake carry the message that India is with Israel in its war against Hamas, the stated official position of the BJP government at the Centre.
But more than the hoardings per se, their positioning has made them the talking point.
One of them, for instance, was put up outside renowned Islamic seminary, Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, near the Lucknow University campus.
Yet, another was put up near a mosque and a temple in Aliganj.
“We will put up hoardings in Aligarh too,” said firebrand UP BJP secretary Abhijat Mishra, who has put up these hoardings in the state capital.
Mishra’s reference to Aligarh has a context as cases against four named Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and several unnamed students were lodged on Monday for taking out a protest march on the campus to express solidarity with the Palestinians.
The students were booked under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds or those of race, birth, language), 188 (disobedience to order of a government officer) and 505 (inducing mischief in public).
{{/usCountry}}The students were booked under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds or those of race, birth, language), 188 (disobedience to order of a government officer) and 505 (inducing mischief in public).
{{/usCountry}}“The hoardings are being placed randomly as we believe that the whole country should stand with Israel, which was subject to a brutal terror attack. But the handful who aren’t backing Israel must be condemned in the most severe terms,” Mishra said.
Similar hoardings have also come up in Hathras. “They are coming up all over Uttar Pradesh and state the official position of the country’s hugely popular government. So, there is nothing wrong with these hoardings. But as they say: to each his own,” Mishra said.
In one of his post on X, formerly twitter, Mishra has also posted that those who are supporting Hamas should also be dealt with in the same manner as Israel is dealing with the militant outfit. “Those who support terror must be condemned,” he added.