Namaz in open won’t be tolerated: CM Manohar Lal Khattar

GURGAON: Spelling out his government’s stand clearly for the first time since protests began in the city two months ago, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said the practice of offering namaz in the open “will not be tolerated”. At the same time, he added, an “amicable solution” needs to be found.
In the city to chair a meeting of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, on a day when right-wing outfits were out in numbers to stop namaz congregations at multiple sites, the CM said, “ Ye namaz padhne ki prathayein jo khule mein hui hai, ye katayi bhi sahan nahi ki jayegi. Lekin isme se saath baith kar ke amicable solution nikala jayega (the custom of reading namaz in the open will not be tolerated but an amicable solution will be found through discussions).”
Speaking to journalists at the PWD Rest House, Khattar said police as well as the Gurgaon administration had been told that “this issue needs to be resolved”.
“In their own space, someone reads the namaz, someone does paath, someone does puja, we have no problem with that. Religious places are made for this reason, so that people go there and do all these things, such programmes cannot happen in the open (public spaces),” the CM said.
Referring to the talks in 2018 after which namaz sites were designated by a government committee, he said some decisions had been made in the past but have been retracted now. “The matter will be discussed anew,” he said.
The CM’s remarks come just two days after an outfit formed by some Muslim residents of the city – Gurgaon Muslim Council – along with members of the civil society described the ongoing protests as a threat to the city’s social fabric and part of a larger design to make minorities “invisible”.
It’s not the first time, though, that the CM has expressed his opinion on this subject. During similar protests in 2018, he had said namaz should be read in mosques, idgahs or private spaces.
On Friday, Khattar said several individuals from the Muslim community had informed authorities about land available with them and sought permission to read namaz there. He said there is land as well that belongs to private individuals or the Waqf Board, which is encroached, and the administration is exploring “how that can be made available to them”.
The CM emphasised no “conflict” will be allowed on the issue. “We will not let conflict happen under any circumstances. Nobody should interfere in anybody else’s rights, but nobody will be allowed to force their way,” he said.
Protests have, however, been organised every Friday for the last couple of months, leading to heavy police deployment around namaz sites. Protesters have been detained twice. In the meantime, bhajan recitals, havans and a puja have been performed at designated namaz sites to stop Friday prayers. While right-wing outfits have led the protests, some local residents have also joined in.
Recently, outfits involved in talks to re-designate namaz sites – including a Muslim group, MRM – released a list of six spots where Friday prayers would be allowed. The Gurgaon Muslim Council rejected the list, alleging a conspiracy and pointing out that MRM (Muslim Rashtriya Manch) had allegiance to the RSS.