Owaisi faces seers' ire, ahead of his Ayodhya visit

Ayodhya, Sep 5 : Saints and seers in Ayodhya are up in arms against AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi's Ayodhya visit on September 7 after his party posters used 'Faizabad' instead of Ayodhya.

Faizabad district was renamed as Ayodhya by the Yogi Adityanath government in 2018.

Threatening to bar his entry in Ayodhya, the saints said that the 'mischief' was deliberate and an attempt to polarize people on religious grounds.

The seers also threatened to stop his rally being held under the aegis of 'Shoshit Vanchit Samaj Sammelan', if Faizabad was not dropped from posters.

Owaisi is scheduled to address a public meeting at Rudauli, a Muslim-dominated constituency, about 40 kilometres from the Ram Janmabhoomi on September 7.

Mahant Raju Das of Hanuman Garhi said, "Why is Owaisi renaming Ayodhya as Faizabad? We condemn his communal ideology and demand removal of the posters."

Mahant Paramhans Das of Tapasvi Chavni, said, "Owaisi's anti-Hindu move is also an insult to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. If posters bearing the name Faizabad are not removed, Owaisi's entry in Ayodhya would be barred and the public meeting at Rudauli will be disrupted."

One of the oldest plaintiffs in the Ayodhya title suit, Iqbal Ansari, too, has condemned Owaisi's political foray into Ayodhya.

"Muslims should be cautious about Owaisi, who should stick to Hyderabad and not play with the sentiments of lakhs of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. I appeal to the people not to be influenced by his polarisation tactics," he said.

AIMIM district president Shahnawaz Siddiqui, meanwhile, said, "We are habituated to calling Faizabad by its old name. It takes time for the new name to sink in. This is a minor issue and should not be blown out of proportion."