Vishwa Hindu Parishad heads to Ayodhya and Local Muslim leaves Ayodhya

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE – As the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) gears up to hold on Sunday what it is touting as the largest congregation of `Ram Bhakts’ in Ayodhya since the 1992 ‘kar seva’ when the Babri Masjid was demolished, Muslim leaders see a design to woo voters.

“The motive is political and there is no doubt about it. The ground is being prepared for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Zafaryab Jilani told. Iqbal Ansari, has expressed fear for his community in the city.

The rallies are scheduled for November 25.

Speaking to the media, Ansari said, “The Muslims of Ayodhya, including me, are feeling unsafe ahead of the VHP rally. We want the administration to beef up security or we will have to migrate before the rally.” Iqbal Ansari is the son of Hashim Ansari, who was the main litigant in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit.

Expressing his community’s growing apprehension, Ansari explained how Muslims in the city were feeling unsafe as lakhs of people would be gathering in Ayodhya. “A crowd had gathered in 1992 also and razed the Babri mosque; my house was also torched,” he said.

The VHP claimed on Wednesday that at least one lakh people will come to Ayodhya on November 25 to show their discontent towards the Supreme Court’s proceedings in the matter. Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray will also join the rally to address a gathering for the first time in the temple town.