A week after a board at the gate of a mosque in Yakutpura area in Vadodara announced a “ban” on entry of Zahil Qureshi, a BJP leader from the minority community, the Vadodara Shaher Jilla Qureshi Jamat Panch (Muslim butchers community association) on Monday excommunicated Zahir. Advertising Zahir, son of late Gani Qureshi who was the head of Gujarat Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), was allegedly seen as part of a crowd chanting ‘mandir vahin banayenge’ outside Gujarat. Calling it an “act of betrayal”, the community leaders reportedly banned his entry to any mosque of the city and excommunicated him. An Ahmedabad-based trader Usman Qureshi said, “This family is notorious for going against community. Now after advocating and pledging for construction of Ram Mandir at the disputed site in Ayodhya, this person has been ostracised from the community.” Advertising However, Zahir Qureshi said, “There are some antisocial elements, who cannot stand that amity and good atmosphere prevails in the country. This is because I am with the BJP.” National convener of the MRM said, “What he wants to do is not build a temple himself but scout for support of people who want to build the temple. I advised him to convince community leaders before going ahead with his plan.”

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