A few days ago, the Jharkhand government ordered the allotment of a “namaz hall” on the Assembly premises. The order was issued by speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto on September 2 and became public two days later.
A notification, signed by the Jharkhand legislative assembly deputy secretary Naveen Kumar by order of the speaker, read, “Allotment of room number TW 348 as Namaz Hall for offering Namaz in the new Assembly Building.”
However, a controversy has emerged in Jharkhand after the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government allotted the namaz hall.
Soon after the BJP demanded a Hanuman temple on the Assembly premises be built and worship halls are earmarked for people of other religions, while the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress welcomed the move.
BJP leader Raghubar Das said the BJP will launch an agitation if the speaker’s decision of allotment of a separate namaz hall was not withdrawn. Stating that MLAs in the ruling camp openly support the Taliban, Das said the latest move was a result of this ideology. “Otherwise any person who believes in democracy would not commit such an act. The Soren government is also tarnishing the dignity of constitutional institutions for appeasement and vote bank politics. This is not a good sign for Jharkhand,” he added.
The BJP strongly protested inside the Assembly on Monday with its MLAs sitting on stairs at the entrance of the Assembly and chanting Hanuman Chalisa and ‘Hare Rama’ with placards.
Meanwhile, commenting on the demand to turn the ‘namaz room’ into a common praying room, the Jharkhand chief minister said, “This is not a solution. This is not going to resolve the issue”.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday said that ‘God is omnipresent.
When asked whether his government would agree to the demand of naming the ‘namaz room’ as ‘prathna sthal’, Soren said, “If you have faith in your heart then you will find God everywhere. If there is a demon in your heart you will only find enemies.”
However, a tweet shared by ANI news mentions BJP MLA Hari Bhushan Thakur on Tuesday said that India is a secular country and all sections of society should be equal before constitution than if namaz hall is allowed to offer namaz then there should be room to chant Hanuman Chalisa too. The BJP MLA also stated that would meet the Assembly Speaker soon regarding the demand to allot a worship room.
