NEW DELHI: BJP’s West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma on Thursday handed over a list of 51 mosques, two graveyards, and two shrines in his constituency to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal claiming all of them have been raised illegally on the government land.
Seeking an inquiry into the ‘encroachment’ and ‘unauthorised construction’ by district magistrates (DMs) concerned, Verma, in a letter to Baijal, said he himself had conducted the survey of areas, where the graveyards and mosques have come upon the government land belonging to Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), gram sabha, flood department, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), and Municipal Corporations meant for community services such as parks, dhaloas, toilets and community centres.
Verma raised the issue of illegal mosques and graveyards last month and wrote to Baijal, seeking an inquiry into “mushrooming of mosques on government land” in the national capital.
However, Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, Shahi Imam, of Fatehpuri Masjid, said the issue was being raised just to target the Muslim community, which goes against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message — Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas (development for all).
“If encroachment or illegal construction is the issue, why are only mosques or graveyards being talked about? Encroachment and unauthorised construction of any nature in any religious place should be looked into.
There should be no selective action. The demand for inquiry only against the religious sites of a particular community indicates prejudice.
While the PM says Sab ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas, Verma is singling out religious places belonging to Muslims,” Ahmed said.
He further demanded that the government should, instead, help the community get back possession of mosques and land, which have been taken over the DDA and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
According to the list submitted by the BJP MP, majority of these mosques are located in Vishnu Garden, Raghubir Nagar, Mangalpuri, Sultanpuri and Mangolpuri areas.