Rajasthan: Cong chief whip in Assembly writes to PM, alleges 'neglect' of Ajmer Dargah

Jaipur, Jul 16 (PTI) Congress chief whip in the Rajasthan Assembly Rafeek Khan on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, drawing attention to the "deteriorating" condition of the Ajmer Dargah shrine and seeking urgent intervention for its upkeep.

Khan referred to the two recent incidents which, he said, have raised concerns over the management of the shrine and the safety of devotees.

On July 2, a wall near Baba Farid's hujra collapsed on the sixth day of Moharram. On July 15, a portion of the roof caved in.

In his letter, Khan said that the Ajmer Dargah is not just a Muslim place of worship but a shared heritage of India, where people of all faiths come to pray.

"Khwaja Sahib's Dargah belongs to the entire nation, but today it stands neglected under the very government that is supposed to protect it," he wrote.

The Dargah Khwaja Sahib Act of 1955 places the shrine's management directly under the Ministry of Minority Affairs. However, Khan pointed out that the Dargah Committee has not been constituted for the last three years.

There is no chairperson, no monitoring system, and no structural safety audit has ever been conducted, he alleged.

"The prime minister sends a chaddar every year to Ajmer Sharif, but is that enough? Sending a ceremonial sheet is a tradition, protecting the Dargah is a legal and moral duty," Khan wrote.

"If the government is incapable of managing the Dargah's upkeep, it should consider handing over the administration to the community itself," Khan suggested. PTI SDA RT RT