Mumbai: Former Leader of the Opposition in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Pravin Chheda has requested criminal proceedings against a resident of Ghatkopar (West) for allegedly inciting communal disharmony and defaming the Jain community online.
The dispute stems from a social media post uploaded to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook on 5 June. In the post, a resident of the Kailas Enclave Society allegedly referred to standard community practices as "Jain Jihad".
The politician calls for action under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for deliberately insulting religious beliefs.
The dispute involves white chemical strips painted on roads within housing societies. These strips are traditionally applied ahead of Chaturmas—a four-month holy period of fasting and retreat. Because Jain monks and nuns (Sadhus and Sadhvis) travel barefoot and adhere to Ahimsa (non-violence), the special coating protects their feet from hot asphalt and prevents injuries caused by monsoon algae, whilst ensuring organisms are not trampled.
Chheda noted that Hindu temples frequently utilise similar white circular paths for devotees.
"To target a religion over an internal society matter is entirely unjustified," Chheda stated in the letter, adding that the resident's aggressive rhetoric—which reportedly included provocative statements regarding meat-eating and animal sacrifice on the painted paths—seemed designed purely to seek publicity and stir division. Mumbai Police are currently reviewing the formal complaint.
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