Joined by B-town celebs, BJP protests 'Free Kashmir' banner

Joined by Bollywood actors, BJP workers on Wednesday staged a protest over the "Free Kashmir" placard displayed at a sit-in here against the JNU violence and shouted slogans against the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra. A row had erupted when a woman, Mehak Mirza Prabhu, displayed a "Free Kashmir" placard at a demonstration held to denounce the violence at Delhi's JNU at the Gateway of India on Monday. Hundreds of people, including students, common citizens and activists, took part in the 34-hour-long demonstration.

Though Prabhu, a city-based script writer, later apologised for her act, the police on Tuesday booked her under IPC section 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration). The opposition BJP had taken a strong objection to the display of the "Free Kashmir" banner in the city.

Carrying forward their protest over the controversial banner, a group of BJP workers assembled at the Veer Savarkar Smarak in Dadar, central Mumbai, and shouted slogans against the Sena-Congress-NCP government. Bollywood actors Juhi Chawla and Dalip Tahil besides BJP leaders Sudhir Mungantiwar and Gopal Shetty, among others, were present during the protest.

Talking to PTI, Mumbai BJP vice-president Anil Thakur said, "Kashmir is the crown of our country and how can they demand a 'Free Kashmir'? A few people are just misguiding innocent people in the name of CAA, NRC and NPR. Today we are here to counter the "Free Kashmir" banner." District president of South Central Mumbai BJP Rajesh Shirwadekar said displaying the objectionable banner was a "pre-planned" act. "We condemn the 'Free Kashmir' banner...from where this banner came at a protest by students? This shows it was pre-planned," he said..