Rowing over invitation to 3 Muslim MLAs for Har-ki-Pauri event | India News – Times of India

HARIDWAR: A row broke out in Haridwar after the district administration invited three Muslim MLAs from the region for an event in Haridwar. Har-ki-Pauri ghat on the occasion of the day of the founding of the state, a measure that was reportedly opposed GangaSabhathe body that administers the ghat. It argued that the three lawmakers should not have been invited because “non-Hindus have long been barred from entering the ghat, and the British had also made it a rule under the Haridwar Municipal Act of 1935.”
The event, held on Monday in the presence of CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and a host of other BJP leaders, included cultural performances and a light show. As part of the protocol, Haridwar district administration had invited Congress MLA from Piran Kaliyar Furqan Ahmed, BSP MLA from Laksar Mohammad Shahzad and Congress MLA from Manglaur Qazi Nizamuddin. However, none of the MLAs were present.
A Ganga Sabha member told TOI, “Some issues were raised but it was confirmed that none of the MLAs would come.” He declined to comment further, saying: “Everything went well.”
Bajrang Dal state coordinator Anuj Walia said, “We were strongly against inviting the MLAs… The government accepted the mistake and told us that the MLAs would not come.”
Mohammad Shahzad said: “We don’t care about the resistance of right-wing groups… We know and respect the sanctity of Ganga and Har-ki-Pauri. I don’t go to government events because BJP leaders hijack them and elected representatives are not entertained.”
Qazi Nizamuddin said he and Ahmed were out of the state when the event took place. “I have been campaigning in Maharashtra for the past few weeks. Furqan Ahmed is also campaigning in Maharashtra.”