Jairam Thakur Criticizes Congress Over Sanjauli Mosque Issue in Himachal Pradesh

Jairam Thakur, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly and a BJP leader, has criticized the Congress government for not initiating the process of identity registration and verification of street vendors. He claims this has led to unknown individuals filling the streets.

Thakur stated, “If you are talking about street vendors, we brought a policy that all street vendors are welcome but they have to go through the process of identity registration and verification. It’s been 20 months since the formation of Congress government, but Congress has stopped this activity for the last 20 months. The streets are filled with people about whom no one knows who they are and where they came from, we don’t have their background. This situation is result of these circumstances only.”

As protests are scheduled on Wednesday against the alleged illegal construction of the Sanjauli mosque, Thakur urged people to demonstrate peacefully and emphasized that it is the government’s responsibility to maintain law and order. He said, “Himachal is a peaceful state and there has never been a tension related to any community but the situation is moving in that direction. The situation has worsened due to the recent incident. The government doesn’t work on time. Now, as demonstration has been called, it is the responsibility of the current government to maintain the law and order. I urge people to demonstrate peacefully as it is their right but shouldn’t do anything which can lead to any kind of disharmony or loss of public properties in the state.”

Thakur also mentioned a heated debate in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, where Congress Minister Anirudh Singh was scolded for his statement about the Sanjauli mosque. Thakur said, “Their minister raised the (mosque) issue in the Assembly. He said that this (mosque) is illegal and unauthorised. He said that a lot of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis have come here. When he said these things, the matter reached to the high commission of Congress and they instructed to remove him from the ministry. He was scolded for this but if he has raised a concern from his area which has truth, then we cannot shut our eyes against it. Today, I can see that the Chief Minister and the minister are saying something else.”

Thakur hopes for immediate action on the case, stating, “When I raised the issue in the assembly, they are presenting it as an unauthorised issue and saying that thousands such cases are pending in the state. They are trying to treat this case as similar to others. I believe this case should be treated otherwise and there should be a legal actions and procedures taken on this case, that too immediately.”

The matter is listed in the Municipal Commissioner’s court in Shimla, with the next hearing scheduled for October 5.