Muslim clerics hold demo in Kashmir after being ‘cheated’ in to joining ‘BJP function’

Scores of Muslim cleric Thursday staged a protest in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar alleging that they were cheated in to being part of a gathering where a ‘Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary’ motivated them to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Traffic was disrupted in Centre Centre, Lal Chowk, after scores of clerics from Srinagar city staged a protest alleging that they were cheated by a RSS members who had called them to attend a religious function at a hotel.

The clerics alleged that RSS members tried to motivate them to vote for BJP and even assured them that the party will ban on liquor trade in Kashmir if they support it.

General Secretary Rabita Aima Masajid Jammu and Kashmir Anjum, Ashiq Hussain, said that they were informed that a religious function is going to held at Lala Rukh Hotel and that it was organized by Jamiat Ulmai Hind.

“After reaching the hotel, a cleric from Dariya Ganj Suhaib-u-Rehman presented us an Islamic book titled, ‘Behshat-i-Samar’ authored by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (R.A). Rehman asked us to maintain peace and amity in Kashmir and soon after his discourse, he introduced us to a non-Muslim who according to him was the symbol of peace and had worked in trouble torn Gujarat and Saharanpur to bring Muslims and Hindus together,” he said.

Hussain added as the man started his lecture, he tried to persuade us to vote for BJP and his utterances were such that we felt he is in Kashmir to canvass for BJP. “We had arrived in hotel with an intent to listen religious discourses from top Muslim clerics but we were shocked that the people present in the hotel were trying to motivate us to vote for BJP,” he said.

The clerics staged a protest and amid anit-BJP slogans said that they are apolitical and don’t want to be part of ‘dirty politics’.