Mumbai: Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi has requested Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to officially declare September 8 as a public holiday for Eid Milad-un-Nabi, following the Muslim community’s decision to shift its traditional procession to that date.
This year, Eid Milad-un-Nabi falls on September 5, with the main procession usually scheduled the next day. However, with Ganesh Visarjan also set for September 6, the All India Khilafat Committee, which organises the prominent Byculla procession, decided to postpone the event to September 8 to prevent logistical clashes and maintain communal harmony.
Azmi, in a post on X, emphasized the significance of the decision. “To strengthen Hindu-Muslim unity and ensure peace, the Muslim community has shifted the Eid Milad procession to September 8. But the government has not declared it as a holiday yet. I request the Chief Minister to issue a GR and announce an official holiday on September 8, respecting the sentiments of the Muslim community,” he said.
Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh has also written to CM Fadnavis, with similar appeals sent to Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.
