Gurugram: Members of Hindutva outfits disrupted a Christmas celebration event in Rohtak’s Shiv Punjabi Dharamshala, where retired professional wrestler Khali had been invited as the chief guest.
Even before the event began, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal created a ruckus at the venue, alleging that the hidden agenda behind the event was to “lure” people towards Christianity.
Sunny Hindu, who claimed to be a member of the VHP, said that the event at Shiv Dharamshala was not about celebrating Christmas, but about luring people on the pretext of healing and financial benefits to convince them to convert. He said, “Everyone has the right to celebrate the festivals linked to their faith, but public spaces should not be used for it. If they want to hold such events, they should do so in their churches, not in a Shiv Dharamshala.”
Sushma Sanatani, another Hindutva activist, accused the organisers of misleading people, particularly women, by claiming that they would be healed of their illnesses after attending the event. She alleged that the motive was to increase the size of their community by converting gullible individuals with promises of monetary incentives.
Manmohan Azad, president of the Shiv Punjabi Dharamshala, told ThePrint over the phone that the organiser of the event, Apostle Parveen Singh, had booked the venue well in advance by making the necessary payment.
“Several participants had arrived from Rohtak and far-off places to celebrate Christmas. However, suddenly a number of men and women claiming to be members of VHP and Bajrang Dal arrived and started causing a ruckus. The police also arrived later, but they seemed hand in glove with the miscreants. The members of the Hindutva outfits started arguing with me, asking why I rented out the dharamshala, which has the name of Lord Shiva, to members of another religion,” he said.
Azad further alleged that they would have attacked him had the workers at the dharamshala not intervened. He also accused the police of remaining a mute spectator, when he was being attacked.
He said that he was shocked at how celebrating one’s festivals has become difficult over the past decade.
“The government declares a holiday on Christmas day. It is celebrated with such fanfare in hotels, and even in schools, but here we have people, often seen with politicians from the ruling party in the town, who are not allowing a celebratory function to be held,” he added.
Apostle Parveen Singh, the organiser, told ThePrint that the event was planned well in advance, with posters and hoardings installed at all prominent places in Rohtak.
“Our people had travelled a long way for the event and preparations were underway. We had made arrangements for dinner and for snacks to be served throughout the day. But they warned our people—many of whom were women—of dire consequences if they stayed there, and forced them to leave,” Singh alleged.
He said that Khali had already arrived in Rohtak, and he was then taken to the church, where the event was eventually held, but the people of the Hindutva groups arrived there, too, threatening them to conclude the event soon.
Over Rs 8.5 lakh had been spent on the event, but the people were not even allowed to eat food or snacks at the dharamshala, he said. “I asked the cops—don’t we live in a free country, where everyone has the right to profess their religion? But they didn’t offer any response.”
The area housing the venue falls under the jurisdiction of Rohtak’s Old Sabji Mandi Police Station. Speaking to ThePrint, Ravinder Singh, the station house officer, denied Singh’s allegations, and said that the police had stopped the event after a protest by the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists.
“I went to the dharamshala after the ruckus started. I asked the organiser about the permission for the event, but they didn’t have it. The permission that they had mentioned the venue of the event as Mela Ground. Therefore, I told them that the police would not allow the event, as people were protesting against it,” the SHO said.
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