Members of several organizations staged a sit-in outside the Gurugram divisional commissioner’s office on Wednesday and demanded strict action against those trying to disturb communal harmony in the city on the pretext of opposing Friday prayers in the open.
Organizations include the Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Janawadi Mahila Samiti, Loktantrik Manch, All India Lawyers Association, Democratic Youth Federation of India, Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch and Sarva Karmachari Sangh.
Speakers including CITU state vice-president Surendra Singh Malik, former Rajya Sabha member Mohammad Adeeb, state general secretary of Janwadi Mahila Samiti Savita, Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch leader Altaf Ahmed and Asha Workers Union leader Meera Rani said that the attacks were religious in Haryana, especially in Gurugram. Minorities and Dalits are on the rise.
He said the right-wing leaders were attacking communal harmony and the common culture and heritage of the country. There is a conspiracy to disturb the unity and brotherhood of people of different religions, castes and regions in Gurugram, which is called ‘Mini India’, he said.
The leaders said that venom was openly spewed against religious minorities at a mahapanchayat in Pataudi on July 4, but no action was taken against the organizers and the keynote speaker despite complaints from various organisations.
Protesters expressed concern over a similar situation in other states where prayer meetings are regularly disrupted and those present under the guise of stopping conversions are beaten up.
After the dharna, the protesters submitted a memorandum to the Governor to the district administration and demanded to stop the toxic campaign against the minorities. It further sought an end to registration of fake cases against those supporting the victims and their arrest under stringent laws.
,