The agreement between the Dalits and Muslims in Kanth town of Moradabad, a copy of which is with The Hindu , was signed in the presence of hundreds of villagers.
According to the agreement, “All of the participants agreed and decided that the loudspeaker, seized by the local administration, will be given to the Dalits and will be put up on the temple after Eid on August 3.”
“It has also been decided that the loudspeaker will be used for 15 minutes in the morning and evening. During Ramzan, the loudspeaker won’t be used at all, but if any Dalit festival falls in the month of Ramzan, they would be free to use it,” read the agreement.
While talking to The Hindu , Kanth MLA Anisurrhman alleged that the BJP leaders, including Moradabad MP Kunwar Sarvesh Kumar Singh, were “satisfied” with the conditions of the agreement, but after reaching Moradabad, they expressed helplessness saying the BJP supporters were insistent on putting up the loudspeaker the very day of the meeting — July 3.
“After reaching Moradabad, Mr. Singh called and politely said the agreement stands nullified. It was quite clear from his tone that he was under pressure from the party leadership which wanted to politically exploit the issue by keeping it alive,” said the local MLA who belongs to a small political outfit, the Peace Party.
“I don't think the BJP is interested in solving the issue. All it is doing is to communally polarise the region,” alleged Mr. Anisurrhman.
Interestingly, when The Hindu contacted Mr. Singh, he accepted that the compromise agreement had been signed, but said the matter should have also got the consent of other Hindus of Moradabad as it was a question of the “larger idea of Hindu maryada (pride)”.
When asked what objections BJP supporters in Moradabad had to the agreement when Dalit residents of the village agreed with the conditions, the local MP said, “It is not only about Dalits but the larger Hindu identity and about Hindu samaj. The Hindus in the vicinity of the village also need to be taken along because it is a matter of larger Hindu solidarity.”
He denied Mr. Anisurrahman’s allegations that the BJP leaders rejected the agreement because they wanted to communally exploit the issue.
When asked why the Muslims in the village did not agree to allow a loudspeaker in the temple to avoid any controversy, Mr. Anisurrahman said, “We could have probably done that too but look at how the issue has been misused to this extent.”
