Pained by Allegations, Muslims in Agra to Take Out Tiranga Yatra

Lucknow: Upset over allegations of not respecting the national flag, Agra’s Muslim community has decided to take out a Tiranga Yatra in which around 500 Muslims are expected to participate. A social activist Shabana Khandelwal, who was pained by the recent Kasganj communal clashes, said such incidents are shameful for the society and Indian Muslims are no less patriot and are committed to the nation.

As per Shabana Khandelwal, due to some political outfits, a wrong message was being propagated in the society regarding Muslims of India. “We want to end this myth that Muslims don’t respect Indian Tri-colour. Around 500 Muslims from the non-political background will be holding the Indian flag and will march to spread the message of peace.”

As per Khandelwal, all the necessary permissions have already been sought for the Tiranga Yatra from the administration. “A letter seeking permission for the event has already been sent to the DM office on Saturday and we will be conducting the march with the Indian flag in our hands from Shaheed Smarak to MG Road where we will be handing over a memorandum to the District Magistrate,” she said.

However, the Agra police officials claimed that they were yet to receive information about any such march from DM’s office. SP City, Kunwar Anupam said, “As of now, we have not yet received any information regarding any such event. As per the rule, the administration seeks the report from police and permission is given only after analysing a situation.

A few days earlier, the district administration didn’t give permission to Vishwa Hindu Parishad for a Tiranga Yatra and hence the event was stopped at Shaheed Smarak and a memorandum was handed over to them on the spot by the members of VHP.

Meanwhile, in the Kasganj communal clashes, the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has accused the Yogi Adityanath government of being biased against the Muslims as many Muslim youths were arrested after the Kasganj violence, which claimed the life of a 22-year-old boy. The JIH General Secretary, Mohammed Salim had demanded a judicial probe in the Kasganj violence.