Cong condemns assault of Muslim man offering namaz, slams 'environment of hatred'

New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday condemned an incident in which a Muslim man was allegedly assaulted after he offered namaz on a vacant land in front of a temple in Uttarakhand's Rudrapur, and alleged that such incidents were on the rise due to the environment of hate created by the Narendra Modi government.

The elderly Muslim man was allegedly assaulted and forced to chant religious slogans after he offered namaz on a vacant land in front of a temple in Rudrapur, police said.

A video of the incident is doing the rounds on social media. In the video, the accused are seen thrashing the man with sticks and hurling abuses at him.

The man, Shahid, a resident of the Resham Bari area, offered namaz during the ongoing month of Ramzan in front of the Atriya temple in Jagatpura, the police said on Tuesday.

Shahid said he had been working near the temple for several days and claimed that the land where he offered namaz is quite far from the temple.

Congress general secretary Syed Naseer Hussain said, "In Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, a daily-wage worker, Shahid, was reportedly assaulted while offering namaz in an open field. He was pushed to the ground, abused, beaten with a stick and coerced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'.

"This incident is not an isolated aberration but the direct outcome of the vile and hateful ideology propagated by the BJP-RSS ecosystem, which has fostered an atmosphere where minorities are increasingly targeted in public spaces. Such intimidation is a grave assault on the constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion, equality before law and the idea of India as a plural, democratic republic.

"We unequivocally condemn this reprehensible act and urge the BJP government in Uttarakhand to take firm action against those responsible," he said.

The constitutional rights and dignity of every Indian must be protected, irrespective of religion, without fear or favour, Hussain said.

Asked about the incident, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "Every day you see these videos, every day you read such news reports. It is painful to see that a person belonging to a Muslim community, who is fasting, wants to offer his namaz in a field, not disturbing anyone, the way he was kicked.

"Two days ago in Uttar Pradesh, a minor scuffle on the road took place and three Muslims were badly beaten up. We have to ask our government what kind of environment it has created?" Khera said.

Citing an incident in Rajasthan where a BJP MP was distributing blankets to women and when he realised that some of the recipients were Muslims, he took the blankets back from them.

"I am proud that the Hindu community got together and returned all the blankets to the shameless BJP MP," Khera said.

The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) members then distributed blankets without any discrimination for caste, creed or religion, he added.

"Shame on the BJP, this government and the RSS. The country is bigger than them; they will be consigned to the garbage in history," Khera said at the press conference.

"We are ashamed of the atmosphere of hatred that Modi has created in this country. It is an ancient civilisation, we cannot get insecure about anyone," he said.

Khera said it is the government and the RSS ideology that are feeling insecure.

"Can our ancient civilisation be insecure by a Muslim offering namaz?" he asked.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore also slammed the BJP over the assault on the Muslim man and said this is what happens when "Nafrat ka Bazaar (market of hatred)" is allowed to grow.

He said that when hate is normalised, mobs feel empowered. When silence comes from those in power, the vulnerable suffer. No Indian should be assaulted for practising their faith, he said.

Tagore said, "This is not strength; this is cruelty. Narendra Modi ji, this is a national shame.

"Silence is not leadership. When citizens are attacked for their religion, it is the Constitution of India that is under assault. Justice must be delivered, swiftly and firmly," he said.

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed said the incident was the result of the demonisation of Muslims in India by the BJP government.

"This goon should be arrested immediately," she added.

After learning about the incident, members of the Muslim community accompanied Shahid to the local police station and filed a complaint.

They claimed that one of the accused was a murder convict and who is currently out on parole. Temple manager Arvind Sharma said activities associated with any other religion will not be tolerated on the temple land, even if a case is filed against him.

The police reached the spot and appealed to both communities to maintain peace. PTI ASK ASK KSS KSS