Members of several organizations staged a day-long sit-in on Wednesday outside the office of the Divisional Commissioner in Gurugram, demanding tough action against those who tried to disrupt community harmony in the city under the pretext of opposing the outdoor Friday prayer (Jumma Namaz).

Organizations include the Indian Trade Union Center (CITU), Janwadi Mahila Samiti, Loktantrik Manch, All-India Lawyers’ Union, Democratic Youth Federation of India, Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch and Sarv Karamchari Sangh.

Speakers including CITU Deputy State President Surender Singh Malik, former Rajya Sabha member Mohammad Adib, Janwadi Mahila State Secretary Samiti Savita, Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch Altaf head Ahmad and worker union leader Asha Meera Rani said attacks on religious minorities and Dalits are on the rise in Haryana, especially in Gurugram.

They said right-wing leaders were waging attacks on community harmony, as well as on the country’s shared culture and heritage. “There is a plot to disturb the unity and brotherhood of people of different religions, castes and regions in Gurugram, known as ‘mini-India’,” they said.

Leaders said venom was openly spat against religious minorities during a mahapanchayat in Pataudi on July 4, but no action was taken against the organizers and the keynote speaker, despite complaints from various organizations.

Protesters also expressed concern over a similar situation in other states where prayer meetings are regularly interrupted and participants are beaten under the pretext of stopping the conversion.

After the sit-in, the protesters handed a memorandum to the district administration for the governor demanding an end to the poisoned campaign against minorities. He further demanded an end to the registration of bogus cases against those supporting the victims and their arrests under strict laws.