2 weeks Ago
New Delhi: A day after writing a letter to lieutenant governor VK Saxena to "stop" the removal of the places of worship identified as "illegal" by the religious committee of Delhi govt, chief minister Atishi on Wednesday accused BJP of orchestrating the demolition. Referring to the minutes of a meeting held on Nov 22 under the chairmanship of the principal secretary (home), which approved the demolition of temples and Buddhist sites in different parts of the city, Atishi urged BJP to reconsider the decision and said the demolition would deeply hurt public faith. Condemning Atishi's statement, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva alleged the CM was trying to disturb communal harmony and warned that she would be held responsible for any untoward incident in the capital.
The LG's secretariat rebutted the CM's charge on Tuesday and accused her of indulging in cheap politics. It claimed that no place of worship was being demolished as no file in this regard was received by it. Addressing a press conference, Atishi, however, termed the LG's office rebuttal as a "complete lie" and showed the copy of the minutes of the meeting of the committee.
"The file of the committee's order was sent to the BJP-led Centre's representative LG. He has given approval to the decision," she claimed. She alleged that MCD, the offices of the district magistrates, and police were informed and they were gearing up for demolishing the places of worship.
She added that a Buddhist religious structure in Sunder Nagari planned to be demolished housed a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar. The other religious structures that were on the demolition list were located in West Patel Nagar, Dilshad Garden, Seema Puri, Gokalpuri, and New Usmanpur, the chief minister said. Atishi alleged that BJP intended to demolish the religious places and said if the LG's office did not want to do this, then the order should be withdrawn.
"The two-faced BJP has been exposed. On one hand, they claim to be defenders of the Hindus and on the other hand, they surreptitiously plan for the demolition of temples," she charged. Sachdeva said the religious committee was chaired by the Delhi govt's home minister, who reported to both CM and LG.
"Atishi should clarify whether the home department under her govt has made any such recommendation. By making a statement about the demolition of temples, the chief minister has tried to disturb the communal harmony of Delhi," he claimed. Sachdeva added that AAP raised questions about CAA ahead of the 2020 assembly polls, "which subsequently led to riots in the city".
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