‘If Namaz on roads is not allowed, why is Yoga Day allowed ?’

• Do fanatical Muslims, who illegally offer Namaz on roads and cause inconvenience every Friday, even have the right to raise such questions ? Cases should be filed against such people !

• The time has now come to send people who demand the right to offer Namaz on roads to Pakistan and Bangladesh !

Kolkata (Bengal) – On the International Yoga Day on 21st June, PM Narendra Modi will participate in a programme at Red Road in Kolkata. Approximately 30,000 people are expected to perform Yoga along with him. The administration has decided to close Red Road and seven other major roads in the city from midnight until the conclusion of the event. Muslims are opposing this decision.

Hafiz Mohammad Naimuddin Ghazi, Imam of the Jalpaiguri Mosque in Bengal, said, ‘I am an Indian citizen, and Article 15 of the Constitution grants equal rights to all citizens. If offering Namaz on roads was prohibited on the grounds of traffic convenience, how has permission been granted for the Yoga Day programme on Red Road ? If road closures cause inconvenience to the public, then the same rule should apply equally to everyone’.

‘Laws and rules should be the same for all religions’ – Ironical claim

Khatim Mohammad said that the Muslim community had complied with the administration’s instructions and refrained from offering Namaz on Red Road. (This does not mean that they are doing a favour to the administration or the public; someone ought to tell them this ! – Editor.) However, permission is now being granted for a large Yoga Day event at the same venue. Laws and rules should be the same for all religions. (Those who oppose a Uniform Civil Code are demanding equal rules; what an irony ! – Editor.)

The programme is an important national event ! : Minister Dilip Ghosh

BJP leader and Minister in the Bengal Government, Mr Dilip Ghosh, said that for many years traffic congestion had occurred for extended periods on Red Road and other roads in Kolkata due to Namaz. The PM’s programme is an important national event. No laxity whatsoever in his security can be tolerated; therefore, it is necessary to close certain roads for a few hours.

Despite numerous mosques, Namaz had been offered on Red Road for many years. The PM’s event should be held where public movement is comparatively limited. Even if it had been organised on a large ground, the surrounding area would still have had to be restricted for security reasons. Whatever is being done is in the public interest, and all should learn to remain within the framework of the law.