"Land A State Subject, No Guidelines On Religious Activities": Centre
NDTV
The statement (and question) is in the context of a festering row in BJP-ruled Haryana, where Muslims in Gurgaon have been disrupted from offering Friday namaz
The centre on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that it "has not issued any guidelines to states regarding use of open government land for various religious activities".
"Land is a state subject and it is the responsibility of the concerned state/UT to look after matters related to land. Ministry of Home Affairs has not issued any guidelines to states regarding use of open government land for various religious activities," junior Home Minister Nityanand Rai said.
The statement was in response to a question from AAP MP Sushil Gupta, asked in the context of a festering row in BJP-ruled Haryana, where Muslims in Gurgaon have been harassed over the past few weeks and months while trying to offer namaz on open land owned by the state government.
Last week Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar said Muslims in Gurgaon, which is part of the national capital region, would not be allowed to offer namaz in open spaces, withdrawing an earlier agreement reached after clashes with members of the Hindu community in 2018.
