A day after the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) sealed a mosque in Sheetla Mata Colony in Gurugram, a Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch team visited the area on Thursday and said that it was an obvious case of the structure being “singled out” for action.
Independent filmmaker Rahul Roy, who visited the colony along with half-a-dozen members of the organisation, said there was construction going on around the mosque, but the MCG did not initiate action against them and it was, therefore, an “obvious” case of the religious structure being singled out for sealing. Mr. Roy said that earlier as well the administration had informally shut down several open spaces for offering Namaz in the city, and now they sealed the mosque after a controversy erupted over it a week ago. “Since the administration could do it under the garb of action against illegal construction, they planned to do it,” said Mr. Roy.
He added that it would only embolden the Hindu outfits and create an atmosphere where they can cry about anything and get it done. Mr. Roy said the organisation members meet in the evening to decide the future course of action.
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Meanwhile, a large number of Muslims continued to sit on “dharna” outside the mosque as a mark of protest against the sealing. Wajid Khan Nehru Yuva Sangathan Welfare Society chairman Hazid Shahzad Khan said the community members would give a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner on the issue.
The members of Sanyukt Hindu Sangarsh Samiti, conglomeration of local units of right-wing outfits, held a meeting during the day to welcome the action taken by the administration and demanded that holding of “dharna” near the sealed structure be not allowed as it could disturb the peace in the area. “It was an illegal structure being used to offer Namaz and a majority of the population had objection to it. We gave a complaint to the administration against use of loudspeakers a week ago and welcome the action initiated,” said Hindu Kranti Dal leader Rajiv Mittal.