"Increase in offering namaz in open spaces," says Chief Minister of Haryana ML Khattar

After saying namaz should be read only in mosques and idgahs, the Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar clarified that he did not speak about stopping anyone."I haven't spoken about stopping anyone. Maintaining law and order is the duty of the police and the administration," Mr Khattar said in Chandigarh.Speaking on reports of Friday namaz being disrupted allegedly by right-wing groups in Gurgaon on April 4, Mr Khattar, had backed the members of groups, saying it is not right to pray in open spaces."It is our duty to maintain law and order. There has been an increase in offering namaz in the open. Namaz should be read in mosques or idgahs rather than in public spaces," Mr Khattar told news agency ANI. While speaking to the media, the chief minister said, his government is keeping a close watch on the situation but if there is shortage of places for offering namaz, it should be done in personal spaces, inside homes.As per reports, the fringe groups allegedly visited at least six locations in Gurgaon, where namaz was offered every Friday and stopped them from doing so.Even though there has been no official reaction from the Gurgaon police, sources say adequate number of forces reached the namaz sites and prevented any violence.For the last two weeks, several right-wing groups have been trying to stop Friday prayers in Gurgaon, alleging some people were trying to grab land in a bid to merge it with the mosques.There were reports of disruptions at Wazirabad, Atul Kataria Chowk, Cyber Park, Bakhtawar Chowk and at South City, say police sources.

According to a report by the Press Trust of India, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Kranti Dal, Gau Rakshak Dal and Shiv Sena arrived at the spots where people had assembled to offer Friday prayers.