The controversy, triggered by the alleged derogatory remarks of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma about Prophet Muhammad refuses to die, so do the violence and death threats from radical Islamists to the BJP leader and her supporters.
The latest has been the chilling threat issued by Salman Chishti, Ajmer Dargah' Khadim to the suspended BJP spokesperson. In the video message, Chishti promises to give his house as a gift to the person who beheads Nupur Sharma.
The threat from Salman Chishti has come after the brutal murders of Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Prahladrao Kolhe's in Udaipur and Amravati over posts supporting Nupur Sharma's remarks against Prophet Muhammad.Opposition leaders and several Islamic organisations have been demanding the arrest of Nupur Sharma for her inflammatory remarks.
CVoter-IndiaTracker conducted a nationwide survey on behalf of IANS to know people's views if the arrest of Nupur Sharma will stop the violence and threats that the BJP leader and her supporters have been receiving from the radicalised Muslims.
During the survey, respondents were deeply divided in their views on the issue.According to the survey data, while 49 per cent of the respondents believe that the arrest of the BJP leader will put an end to violence and threats, 51 per cent disagreed with the sentiment.
Predictably, political polarisation was evident in the views of NDA and opposition voters on the issue. During the survey, while 62 per cent of opposition supporters opined that putting Nupur Sharma in jail will end violence and threats, 65 per cent of NDA voters said that the arrest of Nupur Sharma will not make any difference.
During the survey, views of different social groups were divided on the issue. According to the survey data, while the majority of Upper Caste Hindus (UCH) - 75 per cent and Other Backward Classes (OBC) - 60 per cent opined that the detention of Nupur Sharma will not end the violence and threats, the majority of Muslims - 81 per cent expressed completely different views.
At the same time, views of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) were divided on the issue. During the survey, while 52 per cent SC respondents said that the arrest of Nupur Sharma will stop violence and threat, 52 per cent ST respondents did not share the sentiment.
Notably, during the survey, a whopping majority of Indians - 81 per cent opined that those who threaten in the name of religion should be put behind the bars. Interestingly, there was unanimity in the views of NDA voters and opposition supporters on the issue.
According to the survey data, 80 per cent of NDA voters and 82 per cent opposition supporters believe that those issuing threats in the name of religion should be arrested.Similarly, the majority of respondents from different social groups demanded the arrest of those issuing threats in the name of religion.
During the survey, 80 per cent UCH, 81 per cent OBC, 83 per cent Muslims, 79 per cent SC and 79 per cent ST respondents asserted that those using religion to spread terror and violence should be arrested.