When BJP MLAs cheered for a Congress minister in Himachal Assembly

In fact, it was BJP MLA Balbir Sharma who first raised the issue of the mosque, located in Sanjauli, in the House on September 4.

Congress MLA Harish Janartha, who represents Shimla (Urban), under which the mosque falls, countered him, saying it was wrong to call the structure illegal. “The mosque was built decades ago, before 1950,” he said.

Janartha added that there was no tension in the area over the issue, and regretted that he came to know about the protests that had happened a day earlier much later. “We should not escalate the issue. A quarrel took place in one area, and led to the protests in another,” the Congress MLA said.

However, Anirudh Singh then got up to say that the issue did need greater attention. “People from one community have been living in large numbers in areas like Nahan, Chamba, Paonta Sahib and Kasumpti for a long time. Earlier, no such incidents were reported in the state. But why now? We need to find out the reason. Nowadays, new people are coming into the state. Koi Jamat wale aa rahe hain, jinka koi ata-pata nahin hai. Kya ye Rohingya Musalman hain (People from a certain Muslim sect are arriving, about whom there is no information. Are these Rohingya Muslims)? I request the respected Chief Minister to verify them. I know of at least two people who are from Bangladesh.”

Leader of the Opposition and former CM Jai Ram Thakur echoed the Congress minister’s views later, adding: “This is not against any particular religion or sect. It is about legal and illegal construction.”

While CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated in the House that “no one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands”, PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who has had his share of differences with Sukhu, called for action “within the framework of the law and the Constitution of India”.

Speaking to The Indian Express Friday, Anirudh Singh said: “I stand by what I said in the Assembly. I am probably the only legislator in the Vidhan Sabha who takes full responsibility for the law and order situation in my constituency on this matter. I want to assure everyone that the law and order situation concerning any illegal structure, whether religious or non-religious, will not deteriorate. Indeed, the issue of unregistered people coming from other states is a matter of concern.”

The minister declined to comment on Congress colleague Janartha’s point that the protests at the mosque seemed triggered by a fight “elsewhere”. According to sources, what Janartha was referring to was a clash between members of two communities at a barber shop in Chamyana, which falls under Anirudh Singh’s constituency Kasumpti.

A Congress leader agreed with this, but added that Anirudh Singh was not alone in the party on the mosque issue. “Local Congress leaders and workers were part of the protests against the mosque, along with members of various right-wing organisations.”

Sources said that rather than as a communal issue, leaders across parties see the matter as a law-and-order concern, partly explaining the position Anirudh Singh took in the House.

A senior Congress leader said that Janartha had presented his concerns to CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and “urged him to intervene in the matter”. The MLA did not respond to repeated phone calls and messages.

A scion of the erstwhile Koti royal family of Himachal Pradesh, Anirudh Singh was the second minister of the Sukhu Cabinet – after Vikramaditya Singh – to have advocated attending the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya earlier this year. He had also announced that he would facilitate the visit of the people of his constituency to Ayodhya.

A member of the Congress for more than 25 years and a three-time MLA, Anirudh Singh is holding a ministry for the first time in the state. Within the party, he is seen as close to the Vikramaditya Singh camp but also enjoying good relations with Sukhu.