New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday met a gym owner from Uttarakhand who shot into the limelight as “Mohammad Deepak” for taking on Bajrang Dal activists allegedly harassing a Muslim shopkeeper, and expressed support by telling him that he would come to Kotdwar to take membership in the gym.
Congress leader Vaibhav Walia, the gym owner Deepak Kumar and his friend Vijay Rawat, along with several others, were present at the meeting, which took place at the 10, Janpanth residence of Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi.
Deepak also met Sonia Gandhi.
“Every human being is equal. This is Indianness, this is ‘mohabbat ki dukaan’. Meeting with brother Mohammad Deepak from Uttarakhand – This same flame of unity and courage should burn in every Indian youth,” Rahul Gandhi, who also spoke with Deepak’s wife over the phone, said in a Facebook post.
After the meeting, Kumar told reporters, “Rahul ji invited me. He introduced me to Sonia ji and also spoke with my wife over the phone. He told me that you have done a good job and I will come to Kotdwar and take a membership at your gym.”
Congress leader Vaibhav Walia, who had walked with Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, said, “Mohammad Deepak has carried forward the message that Rahul Gandhi gave through the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ — which is of opening ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukaan’ across the country.
“We are grateful to Rahul ji for honouring a young man from Uttarakhand who stood up for humanity and love. We hope that love will prevail and hatred will lose in Uttarakhand and the entire country,” Walia said.
On January 26, Bajrang Dal activists protested outside the ‘Baba’ clothing store on Patel Marg in Kotdwar to pressure its 70-year-old owner, Vakil Ahmed, to change the name of the shop.
During the protest, clashes broke out between the activists, shop owner Vakil Ahmed and his son’s friend Deepak Kumar, after which Kumar, identifying himself as Mohammad Deepak, forced the protesters to retreat.
On January 31, a larger group of activists again gathered outside Ahmed’s shop and Kumar’s gym, blocked the road and shouted slogans. However, police intervention prevented escalation. Three separate FIRs have been filed in connection with the incidents.
Fresh concerns have emerged following a viral video by the Hindu Raksha Dal, in which a man could be seen threatening to march to Kotdwara on February 12 to “teach Deepak a lesson”.
Local authorities have maintained a strict vigil to prevent any flare-up.
Kumar, the 42-year-old owner of The ‘Hulk’ gym in Uttarakhand’s Kotdwara, had earlier said his business has collapsed since he confronted Bajrang Dal activists.
He had said the ongoing tension has made his livelihood a casualty of the dispute.
Following the incident, Gandhi had expressed support for Kumar and alleged that the Sangh Parivar is deliberately poisoning the economy and the society to keep India divided.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha had said that Deepak is a hero of India as he is fighting for the Constitution and humanity.
