Don't lift lockdown till May 24, when Ramzan month ends: Plea to Modi

By Our Representative
Controversial Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) chancellor Firoz Bakht Ahmed has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the lockdown till the end of Ramzan, the month-long Islamic fasting event starting on April 23, in order to ensure that another Tablighi Jamat-type event does not recur in India.
In a letter to Modi, Ahmed, who has been dubbed by his critics as RSS plant in Hyderabad-based MANUU, insisted that the lockdown should not be lifted on May 3, as in the wake of the Ramzan month of fasting there is a possibility of the fear of coronavirus spreading extremely fast.

Firoz Bakht Ahmed

Wanting lockdown not be lifted till May 24, the day when Ramzan ends, he said, “If it is lifted on May 3, a time when corona will be reaching its peak in India, overenthusiastic Muslims (as seen in the case of Tablighi Jamat followers) will start crowding markets, holding Iftar parties and prayer gatherings, giving rise to corona clusters.”
This, he said, would mean disobeying the Prime Ministerial instructions, thus nullifying the government's never say die, hard work.
Calling himself a “law-abiding Indian Muslim”, Ahmed said, he apologized on behalf of all those belonging to his community, who during quarantine indulged in violence against doctors, nurses, health workers, police, safai kramacharis etc., pointing out, his “head is hung in shame” when he comes across such behaviour.

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