Ujjain Mosque Row: MLA Arif Masood appeals for restraint amid tension

Congress MLA Arif Masood appeals for restraint amid tension in Ujjain over a mosque demolition dispute. He urged the administration to avoid force, citing ongoing talks, legal proceedings, and a peaceful protest by local residents and committees.

Congress MLA Arif Masood on Monday appealed to people to maintain restraint amid tension in Ujjain over the ongoing dispute related to the proposed demolition of a portion of the mosque for road widening in view of Simhastha 2028 preparations. The Congress MLA also urged the administration to avoid using force as talks and legal proceedings were underway, adding that the Shahar Qazi of Ujjain, the representative committee and local residents had been holding a peaceful protest and that discussions with the administration had progressed towards a possible resolution.

“I appeal to the people of Madhya Pradesh not to pay heed to unnecessary rumours, as the Shahar Qazi of Ujjain, the representative committee and the people there have been holding a peaceful protest for nearly two days, and the discussions have progressed towards reaching an agreement. I appeal to the police administration and the Chief Minister, who is in charge of the Home Department, that when dialogue is underway, and the matter has already reached the High Court, you should not order a lathi charge or attempt to forcibly remove people,” Masood said.

He also appealed to the police administration to exercise restraint and not attempt to forcibly remove the protesters. “We have shared videos from last night. Nothing happened before that, and nothing happened yesterday either. When discussions were held last night, we should exercise some patience. When the committee itself is saying that it will resolve the matter, why is there such a hurry to settle everything within just a few hours when it has already taken so long? Please have some patience; the outcome will be good,” the Congress MLA said.

Masood on stone-pelting reports

When asked about reports of stone-pelting, Masood said the matter should be examined separately, while urging everyone to maintain peace as discussions continued. “We will have to see who carried out the stone-pelting. This is not the issue to debate right now. The committee and the Qazi are in talks, and the court’s decision is also pending. Everyone should exercise restraint,” he said.

Details of road-widening negotiations

On the proposed road-widening work, Masood said discussions were focused on the extent of the portion to be given for the proposed road widening, with the committee willing to part with a portion of the upper section of the shops. “An agreement was reached on six-and-a-half feet for road widening. The committee had said that it was ready to give three-and-a-half feet of the upper portion of the shops. When discussions are still underway, and nothing has been finalised, why should there be a lathi charge?” he said.

Masood further said there were differences within the committee over the extent of the portion to be given and that the matter was being discussed both with the administration and before the court. “There are two committees, and there are some differences over whether six-and-a-half feet or three-and-a-half feet should be given. The matter is still being discussed before the administration and is also before the court. Our lawyers are going there and saying that if the issue can be resolved through dialogue, we are ready for that. Therefore, there should not be any unnecessary lathi charge,” he said.

When asked again about the stone-pelting incident, Masood said it would be necessary to establish who was responsible before drawing any conclusions. “We will see who threw the stones, what happened and whether there was any conspiracy. That is an issue to be looked into later,” he said.

Police use tear gas, baton charge to disperse crowd

Earlier today, tension was reported in Ujjain as clashes broke out between police and a crowd protesting against the proposed demolition of a portion of the mosque for a road-widening project ahead of Simhastha 2028 preparations. Police used tear gas shells and resorted to a baton charge to disperse the crowd after incidents of stone-pelting were reported at the site.

Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were also deployed as security was stepped up in the area.

The clash began in the morning when a large group of people confronted police at the spot where a portion of Shahi Masjid is planned to be demolished for the road-widening work. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)