Hindu groups seek immediate ban on namaz at public places

Muslim leaders urge Govt. to allot land for building mosques

The Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti, a conglomeration of 22 local units of right-wing organisations, on Tuesday demanded an immediate ban on offering of namaz at public places across the Millennium City, threatening to launch a mass agitation across the State.

Reminder letter

A five-member delegation of the Samiti, led by its president Mahavir Bhardwaj, submitted a “reminder letter” to the office of Deputy Commissioner, demanding a ban on namaz at public places to maintain communal harmony and peace in the area. The letter said the Samiti members had called upon Deputy Commissioner Yash Garg on October 4 and submitted a memorandum, seeking a ban on namaz in public places, but no action was initiated even after three weeks.

“It is requested that it was unanimously decided by the groups of two religious communities and the top political leaders in a meeting with the district administration in 2018 that people belonging to any religion or community would not use the public spaces. The Chief Minister had also endorsed the decision,” the letter said.

“We want to politely submit that the Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti and the common man will not be able to tolerate it,” the letter further said.

The meeting of the Samiti leaders comes in the wake of growing protests against offering of jumma namaz (Friday prayers) across the city over the past few weeks.

Mr. Bhardwaj said the administration had designated 30-odd places during Ramzan for offering of namaz in 2018, but presently, there were only 18 such private places where the prayers could be held.

Mr. Garg said the district administration was analysing the situation and keeping a strict vigil. “The duty magistrates and the police have been accordingly briefed. We will ensure that communal harmony is not disturbed,” Mr. Garg said.

Muslim leader Altaf Ahmad said that Article 25 of the Constitution guaranteed freedom of religion to all people in India and made an appeal to the State Government to allocate land to the community for building mosques for offering namaz.

“Since the Muslim community has not been given enough land to build mosques in Gurugram, we are forced to offer jumma namaz in the open. I make an appeal to the State government to allocate land to the Muslim community in various sectors of new Gurugram so that mosques can be built at a distance of 3-4 km. The community shall pay for the land and build mosques. Till that time, we should be allowed to pray our obligatory namaz in the open,” he said.