Overview
- A month-old video of Maulana Jarjis Ansari resurfaced online and shows him citing Bhagavad Gita 6:10 to claim Lord Krishna 'offered namaz five times a day', a clip reported to be from a June 23 religious address in Jharkhand.
- Hindu seers and right-wing groups condemned the remarks and one Ayodhya-based seer publicly offered a ₹10 lakh reward for cutting off Ansari’s tongue, a statement that has escalated the backlash.
- Members of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha filed a complaint that led to an FIR in Lucknow and police say they will investigate both the cleric's remarks and whether the reward announcement amounts to criminal intimidation or incitement.
- Religious scholars and commentators quoted in coverage say Ansari’s reading of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 10 is incorrect because the verse addresses solitary meditation and does not mention namaz or Islamic practice.
- Ansari’s history of controversial public statements and his 2022 conviction and 10-year sentence in a 2016 rape case are cited by reporters and officials as context that is shaping public anger and possible legal scrutiny.