HYDERABAD: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has strongly opposed the proposed demolition of Sunehri masjid in Delhi as part of proposals for ensuring
‘sustainable mobility’ in the national capital and called on the New Delhi
Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to drop its plans.
Describing the masjid as a heritage structure that “predates the establishment of New Delhi and NDMC” and that it was a structure with unparalleled “historic and architectural significance,” Owaisi, in a letter to NDMC, said that the decision to demolish the mosque was “not only unfortunate, but astounding” that the NDMC thinks that a mosque functioning for the past 200 years, has suddenly become an ‘obstruction’.
Owaisi said the mosque is listed as a Wakf property and by having the
heritage committee’s approval the structure cannot be brought down. He said
neither the NDMC nor the Delhi traffic police have provided any data on why
the mosque should be removed, in the first place.
Owaisi said that by choosing to remove the mosque, the NDMC was violating
the right to freedom of religion of Muslims under Article 25, and was also
violating the collective rights of citizens to conserve and protect their
culture, under Article 29.
