On 27th August, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar said the devotees will be allowed to offer Jalabhishek in the local temples on 28th August, but the permission for Yatra in Mewat has been denied. Speaking to the media on Raahgiri Day, Khattar said, “Looking at the kind of incident that happened there (Nuh) at the beginning of the month, it is the government’s duty to ensure that law and order in the area is maintained. Our Police and administration have taken this decision that instead of carrying out a yatra (Braj Mandal Shobha Yatra), people should go to nearby temples and offer prayers. Permission for Yatra is denied, but people can go and offer prayers in temples as it is Sawan month.”
Hindu organisations have announced that they do not need permission to conduct Yatra and they will go ahead with the ‘Jal Abhishek Yatra’ in Nuh on Monday (August 28). However, they submitted an application for permission as a courtesy. Vishva Hindu Parishad national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said, “Jal Abhishek Yatra will be taken out at 11 am tomorrow. Since it is a pilgrimage, there is no need to take permission for this.”
Notably, the Haryana Government suspended mobile internet services in Nuh till 29th August in view of the Yatra announced by Hindu organisations. The Nuh administration has also ordered rural and town officials to set up patrolling parties in all villages and towns of the Nuh district till 28th August.
Earlier, on 23rd August, the administration denied permission to resume the Jalabhishek Yatra, which Islamist rioters disrupted. On 31st July, Hindu devotees who participated in the Mewat Jalabhishek Yatra on Saawan Somwar were attacked by over 900 Islamists in different parts of Nuh, including the Shiv Temple from where the Yatra started. The rioters came from fields and mountains equipped with batons, sticks, stones and illegal weapons. They attacked Hindu devotees, damaged police stations, burnt public and private vehicles to ashes and caused damages worth crores. At least six persons were killed as a result of Nuh violence.
OpIndia’s complete coverage of the Nuh violence can be checked here.