Residents of a society in Vadodara's Harni have lodged a protest against the allocation of a flat under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana to a Muslim woman, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
The 44-year-old Muslim woman, who works with an arm of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Skill Development, was allocated the flat in a low-income group housing complex in 2017.
According to the newspaper, even before she could move in, over 30 residents of the housing complex complained to the district collector and other authorities. They objected to the allotment of the flat to a ‘Muslim’ and cited possible “threat and nuisance”.
The woman told The Indian Express that the protests first began in 2020 when the residents wrote to the chief minister’s office (CMO), seeking to invalidate her allotment.
Also Read | Muslim woman names her child ‘Ram Rahim’ on Ram temple consecration ceremony
However, at the time the police recorded statements of the people concerned and closed the complaint. The protest, however, began again from June 10 onwards, the Indian Express report added.
{{/usCountry}}However, at the time the police recorded statements of the people concerned and closed the complaint. The protest, however, began again from June 10 onwards, the Indian Express report added.
{{/usCountry}}A complaint, signed by 33 people, to the district collector, mayor, VMC commissioner and Vadodara police commissioner, have demanded that the dwelling unit allotted to the Muslim woman be “invalidated”.
“The VMC has allotted the house number K204 to one minority beneficiary in March 2019… We believe that Harni area is a Hindu-dominated peaceful area and there is no settlement of Muslims in the periphery of about four kilometres… It is like setting fire to the peaceful life of 461 families…” it said, according to The Indian Express.
Also Read | Hindus, Muslims in Kerala village unite for temple renovation: Report
A neighbour of the beneficiary said the idea of a different religious identity has sparked concern among residents.“We do not feel comfortable with a minority family being our next-door neighbours… It is not just about the eating preferences but the milieu…”
Meanwhile, the Muslim woman, who currently lives with her son in another part of the city, said that she does not wish to sell off her “hard-earned property” just because of the opposition.
“I will wait… I have repeatedly tried to seek time with the managing committee of the colony but they do not respond. Just two days before they went public with their latest opposition, they called me asking for the maintenance dues,” she told The Indian Express.
She added: "I said I am willing to pay the same if they provide me with the share certificate as a resident that they have not handed over to me. The VMC had already collected ₹50,000 as a one-time maintenance charge from all residents, which I have already paid. I am not sure if I can take legal recourse at the moment because the government has not denied me the right to live in the housing colony.”