However, Rajak insisted that they were invited for the meeting with the Gurgaon administration on Monday and Wednesday. “I don’t know Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch. The meeting at Eidgah is not important. I have worked for the people of Gurgaon,” asserted Rajak.Rajak, who is also the state Wakf Board member, said the government had not given the Muslims any official permission for namaz. It was based on community understanding.“To maintain Gurgaon’s image, safety and peace, we decided it would be best if we did not pray in the open. We also requested DC Yash Garg and the administration to remove encroachments from Wakf properties. If the encroachments are removed, we can pray there,” said Rajak, adding that the works for peace and harmony in the area.Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Yash Garg did not respond to repeated calls to clarify the matter. On Tuesday, Garg had constituted a committee comprising a sub-divisional magistrate, an ACP-level police officer, members of Hindu and Muslim communities, and social organisations to identify grounds where Friday namaz could be offered.Rajak pointed out that Friday prayers cannot be conducted under police protection every week. “Prayers being offered in open spaces against the wishes of the people are not in tune with Islam and national unity. We don’t want our Hindu brothers to feel unhappy and disrupt our namaz,” he said.Without pointing fingers at the disruptive elements who have been opposing Friday prayers in Gurgaon since September this year, Rajak said the Friday prayers had turned into a political issue to pitch one community against the other.The Gurgaon administration had stated on Tuesday that the permission for prayers had been cancelled after objections from residents and warned that if objections were raised at other prayer sites, permission would not be given there too.
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