– Shabana Javed
Kolkata, Feb. 10: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind West Bengal organized a march here to protest the puja going on at Gyanvapi Masjid Varanasi. Jamiat’s State President and State Library Minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury led the protest.
Siddiqullah told the mammoth gathering participating in the rally, “They have now started worship at Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi. They don’t even realize that Gyanvapi is a masjid. We demand a ban on ongoing puja at Gyanvapi Masjid.”
He said that whenever the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath comes to Kolkata, we will besiege him. “We are against polytheism. Because you are in power today, will you destroy the mosque and do puja there? It is against the Constitution of India,” he said.
Siddiqullah further said that the Constitution is being misused to suit their purposes. The Muslim community is in despair. They should stop the puja at Gyanvapi Masjid and return it to the Muslims.
Commenting on the report of the Archaeological Survey of India, Siddiqullah said, “It is up to those who gave the report. It aims at converting the mosque into a temple. This decision does not meet the requirements of justice. Injustice is being done to us; we will not remain silent on the issue of Gyanvapi Masjid.”
The Jamiat will organize protests across the country and the government will have to take steps to stop the puja.