Feels ‘Taliban’ controls Assam, says former BJP MLA demanding azaan ban

Guwahati: Assam’s former BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev has stirred controversy by demanding a ban on the recitation of ‘azaan’, the Muslim call to prayer in mosques.

"Do the members of the minority community have the right to annoy me mentally five times a day, 1,825 times per year, with their azaan? Is this religious observance acceptable in a secular society?" Dev asked.

He went on to say that he is willing to go to prison for his assertion that the azan ought to be outlawed.

He described the recitation of azaan as impolite, saying "Whenever I hear azaan one after another in the mosques, I feel that my neighbourhood has changed into Afghanistan and the Taliban is in control of our state."

He claimed that shouting on loudspeakers for the recital of azaan shouldn't be an Islamic religious practice, rather, reading namaz should be their religious practice.

Dev further said that during his stint as an MLA, he had made a request to the then Assembly speaker to stop ending the sessions early on Friday to allow Muslims to offer prayers. "This is not to be done in a secular country," he said.

Meanwhile, three lawyers from the Gauhati High Court have filed a complaint against Dev for his remarks and Dispur Police have also initiated an investigation into the matter.

However, the former MLA said, "I will place my appeal to ban azaan before the judge in the Court."

In another incident of hate speech, Dev had earlier said that people of the minority community hide guns in mosques and later used them to carry out terrorist activities.