Pune: In yet another incident raising concerns over growing religious intolerance, BJP Member of Parliament Medha Kulkarni has come under fire for allegedly threatening members of a Dargah committee in Pune during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations. The confrontation took place on April 12 near Punyashwar Temple and Salahuddin Dargah, and was captured in a video that has since gone viral, reported the Hindustan Times.
Kulkarni, accompanied by her supporters, approached the Dargah members and reportedly demanded that they stop the azan, the Islamic call to prayer, accusing them of playing it at a high volume. She claimed that the azan was deliberately played loudly to disrupt the ongoing Hindu rituals like aarti and Hanuman Chalisa recitations.
However, a critical observation from the video debunks her claims — in the audio recording, only Hindu religious songs are clearly audible, with no trace of the azan that Kulkarni alleges was being played. This has raised serious doubts about the credibility of her accusations and drawn widespread condemnation from the Muslim community.
Following the incident, the Dargah committee members have demanded strict legal action against the BJP MP for inciting communal disharmony and infringing on their religious rights.
Responding to the backlash, Kulkarni denied any wrongdoing and threatened to file a defamation case against the Dargah members. “We only asked them to reduce the volume. They argued with me instead,” she said. She also added that she was unaware of the video going viral until she saw it later, claiming it shows her covering her ears due to loud sound.
Muslim community leaders have strongly criticized the MP’s actions, calling them yet another example of growing hostility towards Muslim religious practices. They stressed the need for authorities to uphold the secular fabric of the nation and protect the rights of all religious communities equally.
The fact that only Hindu devotional songs are audible in the video stands as a key piece of evidence contradicting Kulkarni’s narrative, further fueling public outrage and calls for accountability.
