The BJP’s youth wing has demanded land to construct a temple on the Aligarh Muslim University campus. In a letter to AMU Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor, Mukesh Singh Lodhi, the district president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), said if the university doesn’t fulfill their demand within 15 days, they would install an idol and begin constructing the temple at a suitable site.
Lodhi said that if there can be a “masjid” on the campus, the administration should not have any problem to allot space for a temple “keeping in mind the sentiments of the Hindus”.
“We are confident that AMU would consider the demand considering the words of its founder Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan, who said that Hindu and Muslims are like two eyes of a person. We give 15 days to the university authorities to identify the land on the campus. If they fail to respond, on February 24, we will start constructing the temple on the campus on our own with the support of Hindu students,” he wrote in the letter.
“There are thousands of Hindu students who study in AMU, but there is no temple. Keeping in mind the mantra of Prime Minister Narendra Modi i.e. Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, and keeping the sentiments of Hindu students in mind, kindly provide the land to construct a temple,” Lodhi has written in the letter.
Leaders of AMU Students’ Union said the BJP youth wing leader’s threat was an attempt to disturb peace in the city and polarize voters in the run-up to the general elections.
Former AMUSU president Faizul Hasan told PTI, “This is not a question of religious piety because there are a number of temples in the vicinity and there has never been any such issue since the university was established.”
“We fully respect the religious sentiments of all students and are always sensitive to their genuine demands. However, anybody who has been following AMU affairs for four years will confirm that this threat is yet another attempt to malign our secular traditions merely for spreading ill will and strengthening divisive forces,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, while addressing BJP booth workers meet in Maharajganj district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed the AMU authorities for not giving reservation to SC, ST and OBC students or in appointment of teachers and staff. Drawing comparison with Banaras Hindu University, Yogi said that BHU, which gets similar grants, provides such reservation but AMU does not.
“The responsibility of an educational institution, which operates with the grants provided by the government of this country, is to ensure that SC, ST and OBC get the benefit of schemes meant for them,” said Adityanath. “It is unfortunate that in one such institution in the country named Aligarh Muslim University, SC, ST and OBC students do not get admission through reservation there,” he added.
With PTI Inputs
