Visits mosques abroad; razes them down here: Mehbooba Mufti slams Modi
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New Delhi: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent over the threat to a historic mosque near his official residence, accusing him of displaying a glaring double standard towards Muslim religious heritage at home and abroad.
Her criticism follows reports that the more than 100-year-old Race Course mosque in Delhi has received an eviction notice, giving its management six days to vacate the premises. The mosque’s electricity and water supplies have also reportedly been disconnected.
Mufti highlighted the contrast between Modi’s visits to mosques in Muslim-majority countries, where he has praised their architectural grandeur and Islamic heritage, and the uncertainty surrounding the future of a historic place of worship in the national capital.
"Visiting mosques in Muslim countries, praising their grandeur and projecting respect for Islamic sentiments and heritage. Yet at home, a 120 year old heritage mosque near the Prime Minister's residence faces an eviction notice threatening its very existence. This glaring contradiction between admiration for mosques abroad and blatant disregard for the religious sentiments of India's own Muslim community is mind boggling, to say the least," Greater Kashmir quoted Mehbooba's post on X.
Modi has visited several prominent mosques during overseas trips, including the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in Brunei in September 2024, Cairo’s Al-Hakim Mosque in Egypt in June 2023 and Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque in Indonesia in 2018. He also visited Singapore’s Masjid Jamae and the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Oman during earlier tours, as well as Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in 2015.
The Race Course mosque is listed in the New Delhi Municipal Council’s heritage register and is registered with the Delhi Waqf Board. However, the Land and Development Office (L&DO) maintains that the structure stands on government land and has treated it as an unauthorised occupation.