Offering namaz in open spaces will not be tolerated: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar

"There is no problem with people offering namaz or puja at the designated places. The religious places are designated for that. But the act of offering namaz in open spaces will not be tolerated," the CM said

Gurgaon (Haryana): Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday (December 10) said that offering namaz in public places will not be tolerated. Talking to the media, the chief minister said, "I have told Police to resolve this issue. There is no problem with people offering namaz or puja at the designated places. The religious places are designated for that. But the act of offering namaz in open spaces will not be tolerated. The issue will be resolved amicably."

"They have said they have some lands where permission should be given. We will see if there is any land of Waqf that has been encroached so that it can be made available. People can offer namaz at their homes. But doing it in open spaces may create conflicts. There should be no interference in people's rights. But forcefully doing something will not be tolerated," he added.

Earlier in November, the Gurugram administration had withdrawn permission to offer namaz at eight out of 37 designated sites. As per an official statement from the district administration, the permission was cancelled after an objection from the local people and Resident Welfare Association (RWA).

Meanwhile, in a major development in connection with holding Friday Namaz in open places in Gurugram, the Muslim National Forum and the clerics of the Gurugram Imam organisation in a memorandum submitted to the district administration few days back decided that the Friday prayers will be held at 12 places on the land of masjid, madarsa and Waqf Board, while on a temporary basis it will also be offered at six places for a few days by paying the maintenance fee fixed by the administration.  If anyone creates any obstacle, the Muslim National Forum and the Imam Organisation will deal with it, they had said. "We have appealed to the administration to remove the encroachments on the lands of masjids, madarsas and Waqf Board so that the Namaz can be offered peacefully," Khurshid Razaka, Convener of Muslim National Forum, told IANS.