Crack down on illegal mosques across state, Shanta to CM

Strap: Seeks action against Wakf Board for ”ignoring” certain activities at mosques

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, April 5

Former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar has urged the state government to launch a crackdown on mosques across the state, which have come up illegally on government and private land in rural and urban areas. He said in Palampur, most of the mosques had already been inspected by the police.

Talking to mediapersons here, Shanta Kumar said three Covid positive cases from a mosque at Amb in Una district was a matter of concern.

The state government should launch effective measures to check how many persons had come back to the state after attending the Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin in New Delhi. He said state and central intelligence agencies should keep an eye on them so that every person coming to the state and hiding in these mosques were quarantined.

The BJP leader said many such persons had not informed the state agencies about their arrival in the state and were hiding in their villages and mosques.

He categorically stated that such persons should not be spared and the police should register FIRs against them.

He urged Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to ascertain who was funding the construction of these mosques.

He said it was a matter of concern that the population of Muslims in the state was less than one per cent, but still over 700 from Himachal participated in the Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin.

He also demanded an action against the state Wakf Board which had turned a blind eye towards various uncalled for activities at the mosques in the state.