Srinagar Police take on Asaduddin Owaisi over ‘movie hall, Jamia mosque’ tweet: ‘Distance no excuse for ignorance’

Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday attacked the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s decision to open a cinema hall in Srinagar and claimed a prominent mosque was still closed. The claim was contested by the city police that said the mosque in question had been opened.

Owaisi said L-G Manoj Sinha had opened cinema halls in Shopian, Pulwama and Srinagar but the city’s Jamia mosque remained close.

“Sir Manoj Sinha, you have opened cinema halls in Shopian and Pulwama, but why is Srinagar Jamia Masjid shut every Friday, at least don’t shut it during the afternoon matinee show,” Owaisi tweeted.
The Srinagar police, however, said the mosque had been opened, countering the leader’s claim.

“Jamia is fully opened. Only on 3 occasions post-covid, it was temporarily shut for Friday noon prayers owing to inputs of terror attack and law and order situation. This was after Jamia authorities failed to take responsibility for happenings inside. Staying far is no excuse for ignorance,” Srinagar Police tweeted on Tuesday.

The cinema hall had remained shut for three decades due to terrorism. Owned by Vijay Dhar, the cinema hall has a seating capacity of 520 people, a restaurant, and a gaming zone for children.

In the 1980s, Srinagar had 12 cinema houses but they were shut due to militancy in the early 1990s after a group called Allah Tigers asked for banning movies in the valley.

Sinha said the reopening of the cinema house was possible due to the revocation of Article 370.