AGRA: The Aligarh administration has banned religious activities on roads after some organisations started reciting
Hanuman Chalisa and performing Maha Aarti on the streets every Tuesday and Saturday as a response to Muslims offering namaz on the roads.
Aligarh DM CB Singh said that the ban was also applicable on offering namaz on roads, but exempted on certain occasions like Eid, when a large number of people gather together.
Singh added that no religious activities, including the Friday namaz, are allowed on roads without any prior permission. He explained that everyone has freedom to follow their religion but at their own places of worship and not on roads.
“I spoke to representatives of organisations that indulged in such activities in the recent past and told them about the sensitivity of the issue,” he said, adding that the law and order situation could be affected by such activities, especially since some city areas are communally sensitive.
Several right wing outfits such as
Bajrang Dal had organised Hanuman Aarti outside some temples in the city every Tuesday and Saturday of this month, leading to chaos on the streets as large number of people took part in religious events. In fact, former Aligarh mayor from BJP, Shakuntala Bharti, took part in the Maha Aarti and recitation of Hanuman Chalisa last Saturday.
This was in retalitaion to minority community offering namaz on roads, claimed a senior BJP leader. BJP general secretary in Aligarh city unit, Manav Mahajan, said, “If one community can block the road for offering namaz, then why can’t the Hindus perform Maha
Aarti on roads.” However, Hindus do not block roads, he claimed, adding that there are several temples available for them, but some time due to excessive crowds they spill on to the streets.
Mahajan said that he was thankful to the people who started this tradition to confront the practice of offering namaz on roads. “At least this is an issue for debate now,” added Mahajan. He further said that roads are for commuting, not for religious activities.