BJP MP Vinay Katiyar says Delhi’s Jama Masjid was ‘Jamuna Devi temple’

Jama Masjid was built by Shah Jahan, who had also built Taj Mahal and Red Fort. (Source: AP)

Amid the ongoing debate over the Ayodhya dispute, BJP MP Vinay Katiyar Thursday claimed that close to 6,000 places have been razed by invading Mughal forces in the past. Katiyar, who had previously claimed that Taj Mahal was a temple, added that Delhi’s Jama Masjid was known as “Jamuna Devi Temple” before the capital was sacked by Mughals. The 17th-century mosque was built by Shah Jahan, who had also built Taj Mahal and Red Fort.

“There were about 6000 places that were broken down by the Mughal emperors. Delhi’s Jama Masjid was originally Jamuna Devi temple, similarly, Taj Mahal was Tejo Mahalaya,” ANI quoted Vinay Katiyar as saying.

Earlier, when the Uttar Pradesh government left out Taj Mahal from its tourism brochure, Katiyar claimed the Mughal mausoleum was, in fact, a Hindu temple which housed an idol of Lord Shiva.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court began final hearing in the Ayodhya case, 25 years after the demolition of Babri Masjid. The apex court, however, adjourned the hearing till February 8. Appearing for one of the Muslim litigants in the case, senior counsel Kapil Sibal requested the bench headed by Chief Justice Deepak Misra to postpone the hearing until July 2019. Sibal told the court that the verdict would have repercussions outside the court and disturb law and order in the country. He also questioned the “hurry” in concluding the hearing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing an election rally in Gujarat on Wednesday, lauded the Sunni Waqf Board, Uttar Pradesh, for disagreeing with Sibal’s stand. He attacked the Congress for “the sin of keeping important issues unresolved” for electoral advantage and “making a mess of the country”.

Meanwhile, Sibal clarified that he was not representing the Sunni Waqf Board and sought to de-link his roles as a professional lawyer and a Congress politician. “First of all, I am a professional. I represented Iqbal Ansari,” he said.

On his request to defer the hearing till July 2019, he said: “People of the country know what the BJP stands for. The Prime Minister just proved it today. My plea was that there should be no divisive politics in India.”