Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Prachi has asked Hindu devotees not to use earthen pitchers made by Muslims to carry water from the Ganga to be offered to Hindu deity Shiva, PTI reported on Thursday. These pitchers are known as “kanwars”.

“Ninety-nine per cent of Muslims make ‘kanwar’ for Lord Shiva devotees in Haridwar,” Prachi said at Baghpat district in Meerut on Wednesday. “They should be boycotted. They should be asked to leave from there. Hindus of my country should get employment opportunities.”

The “kanwars” are mostly made by Muslims in the town of Haridwar in Uttarakhand. A “kanwar” is made up of light wooden pole with two water pitchers hanging at the ends. Lakhs of devotees carry water from the Ganga near Haridwar and offer it Shiva temples in the state.

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The Baghpat district administration has ordered an investigation into Prachi’s statement. Superintendent of Police Shailesh Pandey said Additional Superintendent of Police Anil Singh was leading the inquiry. Pandey said the police had requisitioned the audio and video clips of the statement and would take action on the basis of the investigation report.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader’s comments came a few days after Samajwadi Party MLA from Kairana, Nahid Hasan, reportedly said Muslims should boycott shops owned by Bharatiya Janata Party supporters. “My appeal to all the residents of Kairana is that you should stop purchasing goods, items and material from pro-BJP shopkeepers,” Hasan was heard saying in a video shared widely. Scroll.in did not independently verify the video’s authenticity.

He later clarified that the both Hindus and Muslims traders were harassed by shopkeepers who support the BJP, and they want to remove the shopkeepers from their traditional market place.