AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy appealed to Muslims in the State to offer Ramadan prayers at home and cooperate with the Government during these difficult times. He made this appeal during a video conference held with minority leaders, religious heads from Muslim organisations across districts from his camp office on Monday. District Collectors were also present in this conference along with Deputy CM Amjad Bhasha, Minister Alla Nani, State DGP Gautam Sawang, and Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney.

AP CM YS Jagan Video Conference on Monday

The Chief Minister said that with the holy month of Ramadan set to commence in the coming five days, he appealed to all Muslims in Andhra Pradesh to offer prayers at home amid the countrywide lockdown. He also requested them to follow the rules of social distancing during the holy month. ''As you are all aware of the prevailing situation in the State , the State Government has been taking all measures to contain the coronavirus,'' he said. The Chief Minister requested all Muslims to conduct Iftars and daily prayers from their homes instead of heading to mosques.

He brought to the fore that celebrations for various festivals and important days pertaining to different faiths were also affected this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic. He stated that festivals including Ugadi, Sri Rama Navami, Good Friday and Easter have been a solemn affair this year and this would extend to the festival of Ramzan as well.

YS Jagan requested all leaders to spread the word among their community members and requested them to avoid prayer gatherings, practice social distancing and pray indoors during the holy month of Ramzan.

The Muslim leaders said that the State Government was doing a commendable job and that they were all cooperating with the authorities. The leaders expressed their unhappiness over the propaganda by various sections of media portraying the minorities in poor light. These fake news and videos were instilling fear in the minds of people, they said. They also brought to his notice about the fake news on Kurnool MLA Hafeez Khan and requested the Chief Minister to take action against those who were spreading such news. YS Jagan responded positively and instructed DGP Gautam Sawang to submit a report along with the Kurnool District Collector and SP's inputs.