NEW DELHI: The policy to remove a temple on the central roadside near the Moti Bazaar in the walled city turned into a tripartite competition on Monday, with AAP, BJP and Congress blaming the actions they took North Delhi Municipal Corporation in accordance with an order from the Delhi High Court.
The head of the BJP, Adesh Gupta, and the opposition leader in the Delhi Congregation, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, vowed to rebuild the Hanuman Temple. “The temple was torn down by the government led by Arvind Kejriwal as part of a conspiracy. It is clear that the CM is anti-Hindu. The Delhi government should redesign the Chandni Chowk beautification project and ensure that the temple is rebuilt, ”they said at a press conference.
AAP official Durgesh Pathak accused the BJP-run Northern Society of having the temple removed with the help of the police and accused the BJP of avoiding public anger. The Delhi Congress, meanwhile, blamed both AAP and BJP for this.
The BJP officials said Kejriwal could have referred the matter to the Delhi Government’s religious committee chaired by Interior Minister Satyendar Jain, but he did not. The committee is investigating unauthorized religious structures that have been built on government land. “Kejriwal portrays himself as a Hanuman follower. But when the time came to save Hanuman Temple, he resigned. He ignored requests from religious organizations and priests, ”said Gupta.
Bidhuri said the religious committee could have taken a stand in court to stop the removal of the temple as it could violate people’s beliefs and disrupt law and order. “However, the Kejriwal Government Committee has not taken its position in court,” he said.
Gupta alleged that the Delhi government wrote to the Supreme Court in October that the city corporation and police did not support them and were obstructing the removal of the temple.
“In November, the residents of Chandni Chowk moved the Supreme Court to save the temple. However, the court clearly stated that matters related to religious sites were resolved by the Religious Committee of the Delhi Government. The court could only hear the committee’s motion. The temple was removed in the name of development, thereby violating the Hindu Crores’ faith, ”Gupta claimed.
Pathak said the Delhi BJP chief and his party members were directly responsible for the removal of the temple and called for tough measures against them to “commit a heinous crime”. “The North Corporation has filed an affidavit in court clearly stating that the temple was built on invaded land and expressing its intention to remove it. Based on this claim, the Supreme Court issued the order to remove the religious structure, ”he said.
Anil Kumar, head of the Delhi Congress, said the temple had been removed by the North Corporation in agreement with the Delhi government. “Both the BJP and the AAP government admitted in court that the temple was interfering with the pedestrian walkway. The normal procedure should be to provide an alternative location for the relocation of such shrines, ”he added.
