Congress MLAs clash in Himachal Pradesh Assembly over ‘illegal’ mosque in Shimla
State minister Anirudh Singh alleged that persons of Bangladeshi origin were living in the place of worship and demanded that their identities be verified.
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A row erupted in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday after state minister Anirudh Singh and his Congress party colleague Harish Janartha argued about an allegedly illegal mosque in Shimla’s Sanjauli area, PTI reported.
The Congress is the ruling party in the state.
Over the past few days, protests have broken out in Sanjauli regarding the legality of the mosque.
On Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party workers, Hindutva organisations and residents organised a march to protest the mosque’s “illegal” construction, The Times of India reported.
A court is set to hear the matter on September 7.
On Wednesday, Janartha moved a motion in the Assembly to discuss the alleged illegal construction, PTI reported.
The Congress MLA claimed that there were no communal tensions in the area. He claimed that the mosque had been constructed before 1960 and that three additional storeys had been added to the structure illegally in 2010, on land belonging to the Waqf board.
A Waqf board supervises the philanthropic endowments made by citizens – mostly Muslims – for religious reasons.
Janartha added that local Muslims, along with a few from outside the state, were living in the mosque.
However, Singh, who is the state’s rural development minister, alleged that persons of Bangladeshi origin were living in the mosque and demanded that their identities be verified.
He also said that the alleged illegal construction...
