Within hours after posters of French President Emmanuel Macron — who is under fire from Muslim leaders and organisations for his comments defending the rights to publish cartoons of the Prophet — surfaced on Mumbai’s Mohammed Ali Road in south Mumbai, the city police on Friday stepped in and removed the posters from the busy road on Friday afternoon.
After the videos of people trampling upon and cars driving on the posters pasted by some unknown persons on the Mohammed Ali Road went viral, the police from the nearby Pydhonie police station rushed to the scene and removed them.
Unconfirmed that the posters were part of a protest organised the Raza Academy, a Muslim organisation, against Macron who has come in for a severe flak from for defending the rights to publish cartoons of the Prophet. As the police were preoccupied with the arrangements for Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession taken out in the afternoon, they had neither registered a case nor arrested anyone in connection with the poster incident.
Macron has come in for criticisms Muslim leaders and organisation following the public beheading of a Paris teacher who had shown students in his class the cartoons. On his part, Macron said the teacher had been "killed because Islamists want our future" and promised that his government would intensify a crackdown on radical Islam.
After India expressed solidarity with France, posters slamming Macron for defending the rights to publish cartoons of the Prophet surfaced in Mumbai and Bhopal late on Thursday and early on Friday.
The Opposition BJP sought to make a political capital out of the controversy, by pillorying the ruling Shiv Sena for "supporting Islam terrorists" and demanding action against the protesters."When France speaks out against Islamic terror then here (in Maharashtra) the government stands behind people supporting fanatic Islam terrorists?" BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said.
Another city BJP leader and MLA Atul Bhatkalkar rooted for stringent action against those responsible for sticking posters of the French President who has stood by India solidly vis-a-vis China in recent times.
