Former MLA Shiladitya Dev Demands Complete Ban on ‘Azaan’, Terms it ‘Discourteous’
BJP leader Shiladitya Dev’s penchant for courting controversies is not new, he often lands in trouble for his controversial stand on various issues, this time the former Hojai MLA is in the news for comparing ‘Adhan’ or ‘Azaan’ (Muslim call to prayers) with noise pollution.
Addressing the media, Dev questioned, “Do the people from the minority committees have the right to disturb me mentally every day with five times and yearly with 1,825 with their ‘Azaan’. Is this religious practice allowed in secularism?”
Dev further stated that he is willing to go to jail for his claim that Muslims' 'Adhan' should be banned.
Terming ‘Azaan’ as discourteous, the former MLA said, “Whenever I hear ‘Azaan’ one after another in the mosques, I feel like my locality has turned into Afghanistan and Taliban is ruling our state. Is this justified in India?” adding, “Shouting in loudspeakers for the ‘Azaan’ recital shouldn’t be an Islamic religious practice, rather reading ‘Namaz’ should be their religious practice, then the followers of Islam will be graced by ‘Allah’ (God). There is a difference between human-voice calling for prayers through ‘Azaan’ and reading ‘Namaz’.”
Dev recalled that during his tenure as Hojai's MLA, he once submitted an application to the Assam Legislative Assembly's speaker asking for a justification for ending Friday sessions by 11.30 p.m. every week for the sake of Muslims. “Is this secularism?” he questioned.
Meanwhile, Shiladitya defended the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal for purportedly receiving weaponry training, including handling tiny guns, at a school in Mangaldai recently, claiming that there is nothing wrong with preparing for self-defence.
"I don't think they have committed anything vicious. This is just for self-defence. How will we protect ourselves if people from the minority community assault us with modern weaponry, murder us, abduct our girls and women, and rape them? "I believe that every individual in Bodoland should receive such weapons training in order to protect Bodoland," Dev added further.