Owaisi Alleges Targeted Demolition of Mosques and Dargahs in Rajasthan Border Districts
Hyderabad, June 21(TNT): AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday alleged that a series of demolitions targeting mosques, dargahs and other Muslim religious structures were being carried out across Rajasthan’s border districts of Bikaner, Phalodi, Jaisalmer and Barmer.
In a post on X, Owaisi said he had spoken to AIMIM’s Bikaner district president Shafi Jameel Qasmi, who informed him that four mosques in Bikaner and nine mosques and dargahs in Phalodi, Jaisalmer and Barmer had already been demolished.
According to Owaisi, notices have also reportedly been issued to hundreds of other religious sites in the region.
He claimed that among the structures facing action is the nearly 250-year-old dargah of Hazrat Mahmood Shah Jilani located on the Ramgarh–Tanot Bypass Road in Jaisalmer.
The Hyderabad MP alleged that the demolitions were being justified on national security grounds, despite there being no evidence that local residents or worshippers were involved in any activities affecting national security.
“Only Muslim places of worship are being targeted,” Owaisi alleged.
He further claimed that authorities initially cited encroachment on grazing land as the reason for demolition notices. However, in cases where ownership documents indicated that structures were located on private land, officials reportedly shifted their objections to issues relating to permissions and approvals.
Tagging Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his post, Owaisi termed the demolitions “discriminatory” and “targeted” and demanded that the actions be stopped immediately.
TNT TS
