Govt Laws Must Be Equal For All, Regardless Of Religion

By- Khushi Bisht

In a letter to the Police Commissioner of Jaipur, Ashok Lahoty, a BJP MLA from Sanganer and a former mayor of Jaipur, has demanded to know why loudspeakers have been banned in all Hindu temples in Sanganer while other religious groups have been exempted.

In his letter, Lahoty criticized the government's and administration's hypocrisy mentioning that there are several religions that use loudspeakers to perform prayers at religious ceremonies and worship hours and if this regulation has been enacted as a result of the lockdown, all religious groups should adhere to it.

Follow NewsGram on LinkedIn to know what's happening around the world.

Lahoty also tweeted about the same matter with the photograph of his letter to the police commissioner. "Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot under the guise of lockdown has forcefully shut aartis being conducted on loudspeaker in the Hindu temples of Bhankrota, Sanganer area whereas prayers performed over a loudspeaker five times a day in other religious organization opposite the temples have been permitted. The citizens will not tolerate this," he mentioned in his tweet.

According to Lahoty, the local police have warned various Hindu temples to refrain from using loudspeakers for daily Aarti (Hindu religious ritual of worship). Other religious institutions, on the other hand, utilize loudspeakers for prayers five times a day, with no involvement from police councils. He stated that everyone should be treated equally in terms of religion. If one sect is forbidden to practice something, then other sects should follow suit.

If this law is followed, Lahoty believes it should be applied uniformly to all religious organizations in the region, and he has urged the authorities to prohibit the use of loudspeakers at other religious organizations in the region. He went on to say that if the administration does not ban all loudspeakers in the region, regardless of faith, Hindu temples will begin to use loudspeakers as well.

Several debates have erupted around mosques using loudspeakers to play Azaan (Islamic call to prayer) five times a day. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Saudi Arabia has issued a new guideline limiting the use of loudspeakers in mosques. Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh, the Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs has issued a directive to all mosques mandating that the volume of loudspeakers be limited to less than one-third of the maximum loudness. This guideline was based on Sharia law, which advocates silently summoning the Lord. And, according to the decree, any infractions of the regulation would result in severe fines.

ALSO READ: ASI Investigation Into Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque Conflict

According to Lahoty, everyone should be treated equally when it comes to following government laws. The aforementioned instance of the restriction on loudspeakers in Hindu temples in Sanganer, on the other hand, exemplifies the typical minority appeasing propaganda that all Congress-ruled states provide.

Because Congress is in power in Rajasthan, it's understandable that attempts are being made to undermine Hinduism. But the Rajasthan government, led by Ashok Gehlot, appears to have gone even farther this time, as all loudspeakers associated with Hindu temples have been forcefully turned down in the Sanganer area, while it is permitted for several religious institutions.