Seers against Owaisi’s visit to Ayodhya

A POSTER OF THE RALLY THAT IS BEING CIRCULATED ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN WHICH AYODHYA HAS BEEN REFERRED TO AS FAIZABAD, HAS DRAWN THE IRE OF THE SEERS

LUCKNOW : Ahead of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi’s proposed visit to Ayodhya on September 7 (Tuesday) for a rally in Rudauli tehsil of the district, seers there have raised their objections to it.

A poster of the rally that is being circulated on social media in which Ayodhya has been referred to as Faizabad, the former name of the district, has drawn the ire of the seers.

Till date, physically no posters of the rally have come up in Rudauli tehsil or in other part of Ayodhya district. A group of seers from Ayodhya also went to Rudauli looking for the poster but they could not find any.

Now, the seers are demanding a ban on Owaisi’s visit to Ayodhya. They have warned to block Owaisi’s entry to Ayodhya if his visit is not cancelled. However, Rudauli tehsil is around 57 km away from main Ayodhya city. The state government had renamed Faizabad district as Ayodhya in November 2018. Earlier, Ayodhya was a town area under Faizabad district.

“If Asaduddin Owaisi has such so much hatred for Ayodhya that in his party’s posters he is referring to the city as Faizabad, why he is coming to Ayodhya,” said Mahant Raju Das, the priest of Hanuman Garhi temple. “He must refrain from coming to Ayodhya. If he still insists, he will have to face our wrath,” Das added. Iqbal Ansari, who was a petitioner in the Ayodhya title suit case, has also opposed Owaisi’s visit to Ayodhya. He has warned the Muslim community of Uttar Pradesh to be wary of AIMIM chief. “There is no need for Asaduddin Owaisi to come to Uttar Pradesh. He should look after his political interests in Hyderabad,” said Ansari. Hyderabad is Owaisi’s home town and he represents the city in Lok Sabha. Ansari also advised Owaisi not to look for his personal interests in Uttar Pradesh in name of Muslims.

Mahant Kanahiya Das, the head of the Ayodhya Sant Samaj, has also warned the AIMIM chief against visiting Ayodhya. “Ayodhya is peaceful and silent. Hindus and Muslims are living in harmony here. Asaduddin Owaisi must not disturb peace and harmony of this city,” said Sharad Sharma, the regional spokesperson for VHP, who operates from Karsevakpuram.

After the BSP’s Brahmin Sammelan organised recently in Ayodhya, the AIMIM will be the second political party to organise a political event in this temple town in run-up to the next year’s assembly polls in UP.