‘Muslim Mahapanchayat’ scheduled at Delhi’s Ramlila ground deferred

Delhi Police did not receive “written assurance” from the organisers about safe and smooth conduct of the event, an official said.

An ‘All India Muslim Mahapanchayat’, which was scheduled to be held at the Ramlila ground here on Monday, has been “deferred” as the Delhi Police did not receive “written assurance” from the organisers about safe and smooth conduct of the event, an official said.

On December 1, the city police told the Delhi High Court that they have granted permission to Mission Save Constitution, an organisation that claims to be working for protection of citizen rights, to hold the event at the Ramlila ground on December 18 with subject to certain conditions for safe and smooth conduct of the event.

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“We have not received any written assurance related to certain points to conduct the event, therefore no-objection certificate (NOC) cannot be issued. Nobody approached us till Sunday night,” a police officer said.

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When contacted, the organisation, headed by advocate Mehmood Pracha, said they again moved a petition before the court on the issue and the hearing on the matter is scheduled December 19.

The police authorities, represented by advocate Arun Panwar, had asked the petitioners to assure them on certain points including that the gathering will not significantly increase from the proposed 10,000 people to ensure that the event was conducted safely and smoothly.

The city police also said the names and number of speakers, as conveyed to the authorities, will not exceed or change, and no speaker would say anything against Indian laws or make hate speech that could disturb public harmony, peace and tranquillity of the area.

The event at the Ramlila ground is not going to happen but a small gathering is planned at Aiwan-e-Ghalib auditorium near ITO on Monday, the organisers said.

Earlier, Mission Save Constitution had said in its plea that it wanted to initiate a series of events for strengthening the weaker sections of society, beginning with minority communities and followed by other communities like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, and that the voice of all the oppressed would be raised at its meetings.