By Imran Mulla
A group representing British Muslims has condemned a Conservative party politician for attending an event in parliament to celebrate the consecration of a Hindu temple built on the site of a destroyed mosque in India.
MP Bob Blackman attended the gathering in the House of Commons on 16 January. It was organised by a British Hindu group, Sanatan Sanstha UK, known for its support for Hindu nationalism.
The event was organised ahead of a controversial ceremony held on 22 January in Ayodhya, India, in which India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrated the contentious Ram Temple, which is still under construction.
That building was constructed on the site of the Babri Masjid, a mosque torn down by Hindu mobs in 1992, sparking communal violence across India.
“We strongly object to the event celebrating the inauguration in the halls of the UK parliament,” the UK Indian Muslim Council said in a statement to Middle East Eye on Wednesday.
“It undermines the cohesive values that the UK upholds and seems a disturbing replication of the direction the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government is taking India.”
The event involved participants chanting “Jai Shri Ram”, a Hindu chant meaning “Hail Lord Ram”, which has been appropriated by Hindu nationalists in recent years to intimidate minorities.
“We denounce in strongest terms the continuous attempts of Bob Blackman MP in destroying the peaceful coexistence of different Asian communities in the UK by his support to extremist Hindutva ideologies and organisations,” the UK Indian Muslim Council told MEE, referring to the ideology underpinning Hindu nationalism.
This story was originally published in middleeasteye.net. Read the full story here .