New Delhi, Sep 29 — The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday held "jihadist elements" responsible for "provoking" people into stone pelting during the demolition of a portion of the Shahi Masjid in Ujjain a day before, even as Muslim leaders staged an agitation over the issue at the national capital's Jantar Mantar.
Speaking to IANS, VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said: "Ujjain is a religious city. The 'Simhastha Kumbh Mela' will be held there. For this, the government and the local administration have prepared a plan for road widening and beautification. As part of that, authorities have so far removed 80 religious sites in the area. Most of them belong to Hindus."
"Regarding the mosque, only 10 per cent of it was to be removed by the mosque committee itself. The city Qazi said he had no objection. But extremist-minded jihadist elements provoked and misled people and created a stone-pelting scene, similar to what used to happen in the Kashmir Valley," he remarked.
Referring to Ujjain as 'Dharm Nagri', Bansal said: "People who commit such sins should change their mindset of turning Ujjain into Kashmir, as we will never allow that to happen."
Maintaining that the Hindu community is standing with the administration and the government, the VHP leader stated: "So far, the homes and shops of more than 200 Hindus have been shifted out from there; no one created an uproar about it...why is it that such rowdy elements belong to only a particular community?"
Meanwhile, several Muslim outfits and Samajwadi Party leaders took part in an agitation against the demolition at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board spokesperson Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, who took part in the protest, condemned the demolition of the mosque's portion in Ujjain.
"A 600-year-old mosque has been called an illegal construction? I mean, did the illegal construction happen today, or did it happen 600 years ago? How did it suddenly become illegal construction? Your government (BJP) was not in power when it was constructed. So, on what basis is it being called illegal? This is wrong. You had come to demolish the mosque only in the name of widening the road," he told IANS.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Vice President Professor Mohammad Salim Engineer also said: "Whether it is a temple, mosque, church or gurdwara anywhere in the country, these are an important part of the nation. The government is responsible for protecting them. Instead, the government, through the municipal corporation and with the help of the DDA, is itself demolishing mosques."
SP MP Ziaur Rahman Barq, while being detained from the protest site, told IANS: "It is unfortunate that mosques and madrasas are being targeted across the country today. Even protests and demonstrations are not being allowed to be held peacefully in this free country...We will fight this battle until the very end, whether we have to fight it on the streets, in Parliament, or in court."
"This (demolition) is being done as part of a well-planned conspiracy, and we strongly condemn it," he added.