Nishikant Dubey, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliament member from Jharkhand’s Godda, on Friday threatened to move court if action is not taken against Congress lawmaker Irfan Ansari “for hurting the Hindu sentiments” by performing puja at a temple in Deoghar. He said Ansari should be booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), which provides for detention without trial for up to a year. Dubey asked Ansari to first adopt Hinduism and then perform puja if he is really a devotee of Lord Shiva.
“Muslims are not allowed to enter or perform puja at Garv Griha [sanctum sanctorum] of Baba Baidyanath Dham Temple. Are Hindus allowed to offer prayer at Kaaba [Mecca]? They are not. The same goes with Baidyanath Dham Temple,” said Dubey.
Ansari performed the puja at the temple and followed all Hindu rituals ahead of the Madhupur assembly by-poll in the Deoghar district on Saturday.
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Dubey said it is not a political issue but related to faith. “Ansari has deliberately tried to provoke religious sentiment of crores of Hindus,” he said. “I have written to ECI [Election Commission of India] and sent a copy to the chief secretary and other concerned person seeking action against him. While the model code of conduct [for the election is] in place, Ansari tried to provoke religious sentiment. If they do not take any action, I would move court seeking justice.”
Ansari said Dubey was unnecessarily trying to disturb the communal harmony ahead of the by-election.”...people understand all his acts. Baba Nagri is my birthplace and I have been a regular visitor to the Baba Dham Temple.” He vowed to perform puja against after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led ruling Grand Alliance wins the by-poll. “I want to see who stops me. Lord Shiva is not anybody’s personal property. He is for all, and I have faith in him.”
{{/usCountry}}Ansari said Dubey was unnecessarily trying to disturb the communal harmony ahead of the by-election.”...people understand all his acts. Baba Nagri is my birthplace and I have been a regular visitor to the Baba Dham Temple.” He vowed to perform puja against after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led ruling Grand Alliance wins the by-poll. “I want to see who stops me. Lord Shiva is not anybody’s personal property. He is for all, and I have faith in him.”
{{/usCountry}}BJP has fielded Ganga Narayan Singh against Hafizul Hasan of the JMM. Hasan is a minister in chief minister Hemant Soren’s cabinet.
The Madhupur seat fell vacant after the death of minister Haji Hussain Ansari. The four-term legislator from Madhupuri died of a heart attack on October 3, a day after recovering from Covid-19.