Congress leader and former diplomat Mani Shankar Aiyar and his daughter, Suranya Aiyar, have been served with a notice on 27 January 2024 to vacate their residence in Delhi’s Jangpura following a social media post criticizing the consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Temple on 22 January 2024.
In the short Facebook video, she said “With the forthcoming event in Ayodhya on January the 22nd, the atmosphere here in Delhi, already famous for being polluted in a material sense, has thickened to a spiritually poisonous and unbreathable concentrate of Hindu chauvinism, malice, and bullying. I am deeply anguished by all this as an Indian and as a Hindu, and after thinking hard about what I can do, I decided to go on a fast starting tomorrow Saturday the 20th and ending on Tuesday the 20th day after the January 22nd production at Ayodhya. I’m doing this first and foremost as an expression of love and sorrow to my Muslim fellow citizens of India. I cannot let this moment pass without saying as loud as I can, to my Muslim brothers and sisters that I love you and that I condemn and repudiate what is being done in the name of Hinduism and nationalism in Ayodhya. I am also doing this as an expression of my love for my Mughal heritage. This is not only about feeling protective towards someone else”.
The notice, issued by the Jangpura Extension Welfare Association’s Residents Welfare Associaton (RWA) in New Delhi, advises them against engaging in expressions that may disrupt peace or offend the religious sentiments of other residents.
“As an RWA it is our responsibility to see that there is cordial relation between all the residents and we do not appreciate a resident rant which may disrupt the peace in the colony or hurt the religious sentiments of the residents,” the statement read.
Suranya Aiyar on 20 January 2024 announced the fast to protest against the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of the Ram Mandir via her Facebook. The RWA expressed disappointment at her actions, stating that an educated person should understand the significance of the Ram Mandir construction, especially following a unanimous Supreme Court verdict after 500 years.
“What Ms Aiyar, said through social media was certainly unbecoming of an educated person, who should have understand that Ram mandir was being built after 500 years and that too after 5-0 supreme court verdict.” the statement further added
The RWA urged Mr. Aiyar to condemn his daughter’s comments on the event. They cautioned against provoking people and instigating hatred or mistrust among citizens, emphasizing the impact of one’s actions on the reputation of the community.
The notice highlighted the limitations of freedom of speech, as per the Supreme Court of India, and urged the Aiyars to refrain from making controversial posts or comments.
“You might take the cover of freedom of speech but please remember, as per the Supreme Court of India, Freedom of Speech cannot be absolute”, it further stated
It finally suggests that if the Aiyars believe their actions in protesting the Ram Mandir consecration are justified, they should consider relocating to a different community more tolerant of such expressions.
“In case you still think what you have done in protesting against the consecration of Ram mandir at Ayodhya, we would suggest you to kindly move out to another colony, we people and RWA’s can turn blind eye to such hatred”, the letter said.
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and his daughter have been asked to apologize for the rant against Ram Mandir and leave the colony by their Residential Colony Association.
RWA says the post was a hate-speech & attempt to fuel hatred in a peaceful colony, so kindly leave. pic.twitter.com/1OLzcqrrYK
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) January 31, 2024
As a follow-up to this RWA’s reaction, Suranya posted on her Facebook page that the letter was from a Residents Welfare Association of a place she did not live in.
However, Republic TV reported that “The Jangpura RWA president while speaking to Republic TV exclusively, said, ‘The kind of statements that she, as a resident of the society has made, have come to us through others and it has disturbed the peace in the society. Such sort of claims are totally uncalled for. We don’t have any problem with her opinions on Mughals and her sympathy with Muslims but the kind of atmosphere which her provocative statements have created, it can truly disturb the peace and harmony in the society and we, collectively demand an apology from her.”
The Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya was a monumental event celebrated by millions of Hindus globally. The temple’s construction, funded entirely by donations from within the country, is ongoing, with the second and final phase expected to be completed by December 2025.
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