No harm if Muslims chant Jai Shri Ram: Assam BJP leader

GUWAHATI: Amid reports of Muslims being harassed and forced to chant Jai Shri Ram in many parts of the country, BJP spokesperson and Assam Minorities Development Board chairperson Syed Muminul Aowal on Sunday sought to downplay the controversy, saying "there is no harm" if Muslims chant the religious slogan.
"Ram Chandra is the epitome of the ideal king. Ramrajya is the ideal kingdom. There is no harm in Muslims chanting Jai Shri Ram. No one should prevent a Muslim from chanting Jai Shri Ram," Aowal said at a BJP minority morcha meeting here on Sunday. The statement is on the same lines as the one made by Union minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi recently. "You should not force anyone to do anything. But you can't refuse to sing Vande Mataram. There should be no rigidity on either side," he had said.
Lately, the chant has taken on dangerous overtones - with people being assaulted and, in one case, beaten to death over the religious slogan in Assam, West Bengal and Jharkhand. Two days ago, Jharkhand minister CP Singh was caught on camera heckling Congress MLA Irfan Ansari to chant Jai Shri Ram. On the same day, four people were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for uploading a hate song, 'Jo na bole Jai Sri Ram, bhej do usko kabristan', on YouTube. A week ago, the Calcutta high court dismissed a PIL demanding that chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' be declared a fundamental right.
'Section of leaders stoking controversy'
Aowal lay the onus of the ongoing controversy over the chant on "a section of Muslim religious leaders" who want to project the chant as "un-Islamic".
Saying that the timing is meant to "coincide with BJP governments at the Centre and in Assam working for inclusive development of the people", he added, "We do not support anyone forcing a Muslim to chant Jai Shri Ram because the name of Ram Chandra should come from within the heart, not by force ... At the same time, Muslim leaders should not stop anyone from chanting Jai Shri Ram."
Aowal further said that Muslims should not be prevented from taking the names of prophets and saints from other religions either.
"To take the names of prophets and saints of other religion cannot be a religious offence for Muslims. A Muslim can take the name of Srimanta Sankardev (a 15th century saint-reformer of Assam) as well as Jesus Christ," he added.
Opposition parties said the statement diminishes the threat to the country's secularism this represents. "We have nothing against a Muslim chanting Jai Shri Ram. Unfortunately, under BJP, the secular fabric of the nation is being undermined by using religion for politics. So many Muslims have been beaten up, lynched and forced to chant Jai Shri Ram. This is against the secular ethos of our country," Aminul Islam, general secretary of All India United Democratic Front, said.