Nearly 10 days after Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's daughter and lawyer, Suranya Aiyar, shared a social media post condemning the January 22 Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, a body claiming to be the resident’s welfare association (RWA) in Delhi’s Jangpura Extension has written to her and her father, seeking an apology for "creating hatred and mistrust amongst people."
The notice signed by Dr Kapil Kakar, the president of the Jangpura Extension Welfare Association (JEWA), on 27 January, urged the father-daughter duo not to indulge in a "rant which may disturb the peace in the colony or hurt religious sentiments of the residents."
In case they believed what they did was correct, the body asked them to move out to another colony, JEWA said.
"...We would suggest you to kindly move out to another colony, where people and RWA's can turn blind eye to such hatred," the notice, accessed by The Quint.
However, The Quint has independently verified JEWA is only one of the three RWAs in Jangpura Extension. The other two are Jangpura Ext Residents Association (JERA) and Jangpura Extn Residents Forum RWA (JRF).
Releasing a video on Facebook on Wednesday, 31 January, Suranya Aiyar, said the RWA in question is not associated with her residing colony, and said that she did not want to engage with the media on the matter.
'A Hate Speech... You Are Requested To Refrain From Making Such Posts': JEWA
Suranya Aiyar observed a three-day fast from 20-23 January in protest against the January 22 Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, expressing solidarity with Muslims and condemned what she described as acts done in the name of "Hinduism and nationalism".
JEWA termed her social media post as a "hate speech act," and said it was their responsibility to "ensure cordial relations between all residents."
"What Ms Aiyar, said through social media was certainly unbecoming of an educated person, who should have understood that the Ram Mandir was being built after 500 years and that too after 5-0 Supreme court verdict. You might take the cover of freedom of speech but, please remember as per Supreme Court of India Freedom of Speech cannot be absolute. A Hate speech and act by a resident like you Ms Aiyar for announcing a 3 day fast, in a peace loving locality where, mostly resident's inhabiting here came from Pakistan after losing all their wealth and fortune is highly unfortunate. "JEWA's letter to Mani Shankar AIyar and Suranya Aiyar
JEWA asked the duo to "follow the norms of a good citizen" and not "provoke anyone by creating hatred and mistrust amongst people."
The letter also asked Mani Shankar Aiyar, who reportedly lives in the said locality, to condemn the 'act' of his daughter, stating that “it's not in good taste for the colony and the society as a whole”.
'Let Us Stop Abusing Each Other And Try Some Thinking Instead': Suranya Aiyar
In a Facebook video, Suranaya Aiyar said that she did not want to speak to the media as she said that the "media in India is only spreading toxicity and confusion." She also specified that she is not a resident of Jangpura Extension.
"You all know me. I have studied, worked and done activism with people of all political backgrounds for nearly half a century now in India. So I leave my work here on my Facebook and YouTube pages for you to think for yourselves. I am going to try and avoid a media circus as I believe that we all in India deserve better. Let us stop abusing each other and try some thinking instead. Jai Hind!"Suranaya Aiyar in her Facebook post
Speaking to The Quint, JEWA president Dr Kakar said, "We felt that the first 2-3 minutes of the video were not in abrasive and not in good taste, which is why we sent them the letter... the letter was sent to them through registered post. It was also shared on our WhatsApp. We don't know how it went viral."
Meanwhile, a resident of Jangpura Extension said that there was "misunderstanding that there is only one RWA in Jangpura".
"JEWA is one of the oldest RWAs, but it is not the only one which represents people of the colony... this letter is politically motivated. I do not know why this is a big problem. People have such different views on the Ram Mandir issue. But that doesn't mean you condemn it, and go behind her parents and ask them to leave. It's not a society, it's an open colony. You can't just ask someone to leave," the resident said.
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