BJP seeks cancellation of Salman Khan's bail over his Yakub Memon tweets
Mumbai: With Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's tweets defending Yakub Memon, the death row convict of 1993 Mumbai blasts case, drawing severe flak from different quarters, BJP here demanded cancellation of the actor's bail in the 2002 hit-and-run case.
Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar on Sunday met Maharashtra governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and submitted a letter requesting cancellation of bail granted to Salman by the Bombay high court.
Read: Parade and hang Tiger Memon, not his brother Yakub, tweets Salman Khan
"I submitted a letter to the Governor requesting cancellation of bail of convicted Salman Khan for supporting a convict," said Shelar. "Very disappointing to see Salman Khan ask for release of Yakub Memon. His (Salman's) bail should be cancelled on the basis of the support for crime," he said in a tweet.
Read: Salman Khan retracts his tweets on Yakub Memon, apologises for any misunderstanding
"Yakub Memon worked on the mission of mass murder. His sympathy can only come from fellow convict who fails to appreciate mercy shown to him," Shelar added.
Meanwhile, BJP Yuva Morcha activists are expected to stage protest outside Salman's residence in suburban Bandra later on Sunday.
Read: Tweet row: Security beefed up outside Salman Khan's residence
Salman, who was sentenced to five years in jail by the sessions court earlier this year in the hit-and-run case in which one person died, was later granted bail by the Bombay high Court.
The 49-year-old actor said that an "innocent" is being hung for the crimes of his brother and the prime suspect in the 1993 bombings - Tiger Memon.
Salman, who was sentenced to five years in jail by the Sessions Court earlier this year in the hit-and-run case in which one person died, was later granted bail by the Bombay High Court.
Read: Salman Khan retracts his tweets on Yakub Memon, apologises for any misunderstanding
"The verdict in Yakub Menon's case has the approval of the apex court. Khan is adored by millions of fans across the country. He must not utter anything that amounts to abetting terror and rubbing salt into the wounds of those who lost their near and dear ones in the explosions", Uttar Pradesh BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai told reporters at a news conference in Allahabad.
At a separate press conference, Union Minister of State for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria, also slammed the superstar for "questioning the wisdom of the judiciary, including the highest judicial body in the country".
Read: Salim Khan calls Salman's tweets about Yakub Memon 'ridiculous and meaningless'
Party MP from Kaushambi in UP Vinod Sonekar said: "The apex court must take suo motu cognizance of the tweets which are an act of evident disrespect to the judiciary and take suitable action."
After his curative petition against the death sentence awarded by a special TADA court was dismissed by the Supreme Court earlier this week, Yakub submitted a mercy petition to the Maharashtra Governor.
The President had earlier rejected his mercy petition.
