Shimla (Himachal Pradesh): Amid the rising tension over the controversial Sanjauli Mosque, the state Waqf Board and the Masjid Welfare Committee urged the municipal authorities to seal the illegal portion and offered to demolish it as per the court order.
The board’s state officer Qutubuddin, who was part of the panel, told the Municipal Commissioner Bhupendra Atri that if the mosque management is ready to remove the illegal construction itself, then they, i.e., the Waqf Board officials, have no objection.
The mosque committee also sought permission from the Municipal Commissioner Court through an application to remove the illegal part of the mosque itself. In response, the commissioner said that further steps would be taken as per the law.
Meanwhile, the ruling Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has called an all-party meeting over the issue. It also asked the law department to resolve the dispute over the ownership of the mosque land.
Notably, the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Anirudh Singh, claimed in the assembly that the land belongs to the government while the Waqf Board claimed its ownership rights.
Local MLA Harish Janartha, who was at the centre of the controversy, also initiated talks with the representatives of the Muslim community to address various points of the matter. He also appealed to everyone to work together by posting a detailed post in Hindi and English on his social media page.
He said that concrete measures are being taken to ensure that no such incident happens in Himachal in the future.
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