Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale on Saturday stopped a Hindu religious program in Delhi citing his mother’s illness, causing anger among the residents. The incident took place at Sindhu Gomti Apartment on Vishambar Das Marg in Lutyens Delhi, where an annual Mata Jagran of Ma Vaishno Devi was being held.
The organisers of the religious program said that Saket Gokhale was not allowing the event to go ahead saying that his mother was ill. A resident told the media that Gokhale said, “I will not give permission for such loud sound because his mother has a heart problem.” He threatened that if something happened to his mother, the organisers and residents would be responsible.
Delhi: TMC MP Saket Gokhale reportedly halted the annual Mata Jagran at Sindhu Gomti Apartment on Vishambar Das Marg, citing his mother's illness. Organizers allege he is preventing the event, sparking anger among residents pic.twitter.com/GSmuKf7OND
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Notably, Sindhu Apartment and Gomti Apartment are located inside the Presidential Estate and they house flats allotted to MPs, along with several similar apartment buildings in the area. The annual Mata Jagaran is organised by govt employees and servants working in flats in the area. They said that they wanted to organise the Jagaran with low volume, but the TMC MP didn’t agree and sent police to stop it. Reportedly, Gokhale also threatened to get them arrested if the program was not stopped.
The organisers said that a large number of people from the area attend the event every year, and on 9th November also many people had arrived. They requested to held the Jagaran for at least 2 hours at low volume, but Saket Gokhale didn’t relent.
A Delhi resident Vijay Kumar posted on Facebook, “It’s time to expose the unacceptable behavior of Saket Gokhale, the TMC MP who has shown a complete lack of respect for our community and its traditions. While local residents gathered for a Jagran in honor of Ma Vaishno Devi, Gokhale not only tried to shut it down but went so far as to threaten the very people who were celebrating their faith! He told them he would call the police and have them all arrested, claiming they were there to harm him.”
While the apartment houses official flats for MPs, it is not confirmed whether Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale has been allotted a house there or not. The Rajya Sabha website lists West Bengal Bhawan on Pandit Umashankar Dikshit Marg in Chanakyapuri as his address in Delhi.
