The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister wrote a letter to his son and Urban Development Minister Jaivardhan Singh requesting to immediately stop the implementation of the decision. (Express File Photo)Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh Saturday said the decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Bhopal Municipal Corporation to build a slaughterhouse near a temple on the outskirts of the city has hurt his feelings and of lakhs of devotees.
The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister wrote a letter to his son and Urban Development Minister Jaivardhan Singh requesting to immediately stop the implementation of the decision, which was taken by the municipal body when the BJP government was in power in the state.
Singh pointed out that during Navratri, many pilgrims visit the Kankali Mandir, which is close to Aadampur Chhavni, the site of the slaughterhouse. Three more temples, including a Ram Mandir and an ISKCON temple are located on the road leading to Kankali Mandir, he added.
The letter said Congress workers had opposed the then BJP government’s decision to shift the slaughterhouse from Subhasnagar, the existing location, to Aadampur Chhavni, adding that the protests had forced the government to shelve the idea of building the slaughterhouse in Aadampur Chhavni.
However, the then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the municipal corporation went against people’s wishes and sanctioned DPR, he alleged.
The veteran leader’s letter comes days after his ‘saffron-clad rapists’ remark made headlines and the party distanced itself from him.
While addressing a Sant Samagam (gathering of saints) organised by the Congress government in Bhopal, Singh had said, “Saffron-clad people are selling churan, (some) saffron-clad are committing rapes, rapes are taking place in temples. Is it our religion? God will not pardon those who have defamed our sanatan dharma.”
His remarks came after former BJP MP Chinmayanand was accused by a 23-year-old student of sexual assault.
Reacting to this, the party said, “We came to know about that comment from the media. We don’t know in what context it was made, but the party holds the view that criminals do not get affected by the kind of robes they don. Criminals are criminals and they should be seen from that perspective only.”
