ML Khattar said that the administration is in talks with all the parties to find an amicable solution (File)
New Delhi:
Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar today said that Muslims should not offer Friday prayers at open spaces in Gurgaon, withdrawing an earlier agreement reached in 2018 after clashes with members of the Hindu community said that at designated places in the city Prayer is allowed.
Mr Khattar’s statement comes amid a festivity between the two communities, with right-wing Hindu groups repeatedly harassing and intimidating Muslims who are looking to offer prayers at agreed sites.
The Chief Minister said that the Gurgaon administration is re-negotiating with all the parties involved and an “amicable solution” will be worked out which does not encroach on anyone’s rights.
Till then people should offer Namaz at their homes and other places of worship.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Khattar said, “I have spoken to the police and the issue should be resolved. We have no problem with anyone offering prayers at places of worship. Those places were built for this purpose.” Is.”
“But this should not happen in the open. We will not tolerate the practice of offering namaz in the open,” the chief minister said.
He said the administration would work out ways to help free areas and sites belonging to waqfs, which may be encroached upon.
Offering open prayers on government land was strongly opposed by right-wing groups who had gone to a prayer site last month to spread cow dung. On other occasions, Muslims who prayed in peace were called “”Jai Shri Ram,
Tensions escalated in October as groups of people – locals claiming they were linked to right-wing outfits – disrupted prayers in Sector 12-A. Scenes in the area saw heavy police presence as Muslims offered prayers; 30 protesters were detained in connection with the incident.
After this, the Gurgaon administration said on November 2 that Muslims could not offer Namaz at eight of the 37 pre-determined places. The administration said the permission was revoked after “objection” from local people and added that permission for other sites would be revoked if similar “objection” was raised.
Other “objections” claim that “Rohingya refugees” use prayer as an excuse to commit crimes in the region.
When the protests first made headlines, Mr Khattar said everyone had a right to pray, but also issued a warning saying “not to block road traffic to those who offer prayers”. needed”.
Union minister Krishan Pal Gurjar – junior social justice minister, and whose constituency is in Haryana, said people should be allowed to offer prayers if the sites were designated for such purposes.
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