Namaz disruptions: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar suspends public prayers until solution's found

Tribune News Service
Gurugram, December 10

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar temporarily suspended public namaz prayers on Friday—a development that came as protests continued in four places in Gurugram days after the supposed solution was agreed on.

The chief minister said in a statement on Friday that all previous sanctions given for public prayers stood nullified and that the state government will now work out an “amicable solution that will uphold all rights and ensure no encroachment or exploitation”. Until then, he said, there would be no namaz offering in public places.

”We have no issues anybody practising religion at their religious places but use of open spaces is not acceptable,” he said on Friday. “There should be no law and order situation or any tension about same. We got to know that there was a meeting between groups and some places were agreed upon or allocated but we with immediate effect withdraw all and will work out amicable solution soon,” he said, referring to a recent agreement made by some Hindu and Muslim organisations from Gurugram in official meetings that the district administration hosted.

 “We will help Waqf board to get their spaces free of encroachment. Till then, people should offer prayers at their legal sites, homes etc. We won’t infringe on any rights but nobody’s allowed to bully,” he said.

This means that the six public places that were recently agreed upon by the parties for Friday ‘jumma’ prayers stands void. The six public spaces were in addition to 12 dargahs and mosques.

The statement came on a day when namaz disruptions were reported in at least four places in Gurugram—Sectors 44, 9, 23 and 37.

Locals in Sectors 44, 9, and 23 claimed Muslims were unaware of the new agreement and asked people to head over to the correct sites. Tensions however flared up in Sector 37, where Hindu organisations led a condolence meeting they claimed were held for Chief of Defence

Staff Bipin Rawat and his wife. Chants of “Jai Shivaji” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai” rent the air at the site.

Mahaveer Bhardwaj, president of Sanyukt Hindu Morcha, said the issue should be perceived as religious.

“This is a social and legal matter pertaining to misuse of public spaces and law and order situation,” he claimed.

Meanwhile Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed, a senior Congress leader, accused the state government of actively encouraging right-wing organisations disrupting prayers. “This has been happening for three years now and the government that is backing them has finally found an excuse to shut this (namaz) down,” he said.

“We won’t allow a violation of the constitutional right to follow one’s religion in the name of an ‘amicable solution’.”

Namaz disruptions are now a weekly affair, with protesters led by Hindu groups almost coming to blows with Muslim devotees over public prayers. The disruptions have led to several detentions in the past few weeks.