The demolition of a 300-year-old temple in Rajasthan's Alwar has triggered a political slugfest between BJP and Congress. Amid this, India TV has accessed the documents of the minutes of the municipal meeting, allegedly exposing Congress' lies in the matter.
According to the minutes of the municipality meeting, one document which is of 2016 states that there is no correct measurement so the encroachment should not be removed. While the second document which is of 2021 has no mention of the temple but still it was demolished.
Targeting the Congress party, the BJP has alleged that many temples coming in the way of the highway to be built in Dausa were demolished but the mosque which came on the way of the highway was not.
BJP MP Kirori Lal Meena said that CM Ashok Gehlot is more barbaric than Babur and Aurangzeb.
Two temples and some shops were demolished on Sunday and Monday with officials describing the action a part of an anti-encroachment drive to widen a road in Alwar's Rajgarh. It's a BJP-run municipality in Congress-ruled Rajasthan.
Alwar’s BJP MP Balaknath alleged that the idols at one of the temples too were damaged in the demolition early this week. Rajasthan Minister Shanti Dhariwal blamed the BJP and said the state government is examining the matter.
Rajgarh SDM Keshav Meena said the Nagar Palika’s executive officer had issued notices to 86 people on April 6 to remove encroachments from the road and they were given time. The action of demolition of over 100 structures was taken on April 17 and 18, he added.
As the anti-encroachment drive triggered the row, Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia accused the Congress of being behind the demolition, while state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra asserted that it was the decision of the city’s municipality headed by the saffron party.
BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Kirodi Mal Meena reached Rajgarh on Friday and sat on a dharna before a police station there, protesting over the demolition of the temple that the BJP claimed to be 300 years old. But the BJP said Congress will have to face its consequences.
Poonia said in Udaipur that the videos on social media showed a bulldozer demolishing the 300-year-old Shiva temple.
“It is in the public domain that all these actions were taken at the behest of the state government,” he claimed without elaborating.
The party has also formed a "fact-finding committee" headed by Sikar MP Swami Sumedhanand, he added.
“They will give me a report in three days,” he said. The committee has five members including Sumedhanand.
Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore accused Rajgarh’s Congress MLA Johari Lal Meena of being involved in the matter.
Claiming that the idols were damaged, Alwar MP Balaknath accused Rajasthan's Congress government of hurting people’s sentiment and working to appease a particular community.
"We demand that FIR should be registered against the officials who did this (demolition drive). Those who have legal documents but their homes have been destroyed should be given compensation and a place," BJP MP Swami Sumedhanand Saraswati said.
"CM and district administration should apologise and temples should be reconstructed and idols to be installed back with full respect. All our MLAs will give a memorandum to Governor to take action against concerned officials," he added.
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