Dehradun: Veteran Congress leader and former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat has taken a dig at the BJP for making much ado over Union Home Minister Amit Shah halting his speech on hearing Azaan, the Muslim call for prayer, at a rally in north Kashmir's Baramulla on Wednesday. Rawat said that when the Congress leaders did a similar thing, the BJP leaders called it Muslim worship.
It may be recalled that Amit Shah who addressed a mega rally in Baramulla during his 3-day J&K visit paused his speech when the call for noon prayers reverberated from the nearby mosque. Taking a dig at the BJP, Harish Rawat, in a social media post said, “Whenever there was azaan from the nearest mosque during Congress meetings, Congress leaders stopped their speech in respect. BJP called it our Muslim worship to provoke public feelings”. Rawat however appreciated Shah for respecting the Muslim sentiments saying it was great to see that now the “BJP is also changing”.
Also read: Watch: Amit Shah halts speech for Azaan in Baramulla
“It is good to see BJP leader, respected Amit Shah ji, changing,” he said. “This has strengthened the identity of India. I wish there is action against bigotry which spreads hatred among the people and fanaticism which makes others fanatical and weakens the country. It would be good if BJP changes those habits too,” he added.
Two days ago, five minutes into his about half-an-hour speech at Showkat Ali stadium in this North Kashmir district, Amit Shah paused and asked those on the stage "if something was going on at a mosque"? When someone on the stage told him that 'Azaan' was going on, Shah stopped his speech, attracting a huge round of applause and chanting of slogans in his favour from the gathering.
After a brief moment, Shah said the call for prayer has now stopped and asked if he would continue his speech. "Should I start or not? Say it loudly, should I start," he asked and then went on with his speech with the approval of audience.
