TMMK to take agitational path on Vellore fort mosque issue

Vellore, Tamil Nadu, Mar 3 (UNI) The Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) today threatened to launch an agitation if the mosque inside the Vellore fort was not handed over to Muslims by April 30 for conducting prayers.

TMMK President M H Jawahirullah told reporters here that Muslims have been demanding for decades that the mosque, now under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India, be thrown open for worship. The party's repeated representations to the Union and State Governments and ASI have fallen on deaf ears.

Refusing to accept the ASI's contention that the mosque was not used for prayer at the time of take over and hence prayers could not be permitted now, he pointed out that prayers were being allowed at the temple and church inside the ramparts of the fort. ''This is nothing, but sheer discrimination,'' he alleged.

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