Sanjay Yadav
Gurugram, November 26
Disruptions in public prayer delivery continued on Friday as over 100 people chanted Hindu slogans, offered their prayers and chanted Hanuman Chalisa, from where some Muslims were offering Friday prayers.
This time the picket site was near Sector 37 police station. People from the villages of Mohammadpur Jharsa, Khandsa, Narsinghpur and Khatola came to the place of prayer and announced a havan for the “martyrs of 26/11” on the 13th anniversary of the Mumbai attacks.
The group also chanted “Jai Shri Ram” – a slogan that many fringe Hindu organizations are increasingly seen using as a weapon of intimidation – even as police stood nearby to stop the increase in large numbers.
The prayer site is one of the many places designated by the Gurugram administration for Muslims to offer “Jumma” prayers. Due to public protests, the Gurugram administration withdrew eight places from the list of 37 approved for Friday prayers.
Meanwhile, some Sikhs protested the Gurdwara committee’s decision to offer Gurdwara Singh Sabha, located near Sabzi Mandi, for Namaz.
Sardar Ravi Ranjan of Gurmat Prachar Jatha Panth Khalsa said, “The Gurdwara is only for Gurbani and is not a rental space for mass religious gatherings.” “We wonder how the head of the gurdwara committee introduced Muslims for prayers. This is completely against our guru-maryada.”