Dehradun, Sep 2 (IANS) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday lashed out at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and the Congress for not reacting to the alleged objectionable remarks made by Muslim clerics and instead attempting to “hurt Sanatan Dharma”.
Moreover, while addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister again refuted allegations of a purification ritual having been performed at a venue in Haldwani where Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had addressed an event.
Referring to the controversial remarks made by Kerala Grand Mufti Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, CM Dhami said: “The Congress party’s Yuvraj (Rahul Gandhi) keeps making statements at different places in every possible way to hurt Sanatan. A few days ago, he made a statement about the patriarchal system, and today I am seeing that a Grand Mufti, Abu Bakr Ahmad, has made a very controversial statement regarding women. He has said that women should not step out of their homes, along with several other things, reflecting a very narrow mindset. But neither the Congress nor Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra react to such things.”
“But when it comes to Sanatan, he (Rahul Gandhi) leaves no stone untuned to harm it,” he remarked.
Pointing to Muslim cleric Mufti Mujeeb’s controversial speech near Trishul Chowk in Rudrapur, the Uttarakhand CM said: “He spoke anarchic things yet neither the Congress nor its ‘yuvraj’ (Rahul Gandhi) had anything to say about it.”
The Muslim cleric was later arrested for delivering a purported provocative speech.
According to police, Mufti Mujeeb said: “If the government shuts down madrassas, you cannot even imagine what Muslims will do”.
CM Dhami, meanwhile, recalled the Uttarakhand government’s decision that any madrasa that does not obtain permission from the authority established for minority education, does not follow its provisions, or does not teach the curriculum prescribed by the Education Board, will be closed.
“It is because we want educational institutions where students can attain modern education. Every child, regardless of who they are, should receive such education today,” the Chief Minister said.
Pushkar Singh Dhami also spoke about the Haldwani purification row, saying: “It was neither about a person or about any caste. There is no proof that any caste was being insulted at the event.”
The Chief Minister said: “Jihadi slogans were raised at the venue, so members of ‘Sri Ram Sena’, a religious organisation, had performed ‘havan’ objecting to that.”
He accused the Congress of creating their narrative of the incident, “for votes”.
Mentioning that members of the organisation included people from Scheduled Castes, CM Dhami questioned, saying: “How is it possible that people belonging from the same section of the society, would perform ‘shuddhikaran’ against their own community?”
–IANS
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