ISLAMABAD: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a mass yoga session on Kolkata's Red Road to mark the International Day of Yoga, with around 30,000 people participating on Sunday, according to The Hindu newspaper.

To facilitate the program and ensure security, authorities closed Red Road and several major roads in the city from midnight until the event concluded.

According to the non-profit Hindu organization Sanat Prabha, the road closures sparked criticism from some members of the Muslim community, who claimed it was unequal treatment in the use of public roads for religious and public gatherings.

Hafiz Mohammad Naimuddin Ghazi, an imam (Muslim prayer leader) from Jalpaiguri, argued that Muslims have faced restrictions on offering prayers on public roads due to concerns about traffic disruption and public inconvenience. He questioned why a large-scale yoga event involving road closures was permitted while prayers on roads have been discouraged or restricted for Muslims.

“We were told that offering Namaz [prayers] on roads causes inconvenience to commuters and should not be allowed. If roads can be closed for a yoga event attended by the Prime Minister, then the administration should explain why different standards are applied,” Ghazi said.

Another community representative, Khatim Mohammad, said the Muslim community had complied with administrative directives regarding public prayers and expected the same principles to be applied uniformly. He called for equal treatment of all communities under the law.

Responding to the objections, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said the temporary road closures were necessary because of security requirements associated with the prime minister's visit. He maintained that the event was a national program of significant importance and that the authorities had acted in the public interest.

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Indian PM Modi’s yoga day event draws questions over unequal treatment of public gatherings