AAP MLA Atishi led the protest at Sriniwaspuri (File Photo) The Aam Aadmi Party Saturday protested at Delhi’s Sriniwaspuri against what it claimed was a plan to demolish a temple by the BJP-led central government.
It shared a purported notice by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, which read, “It has been noticed that you have erected/occupied the said religious structure at the project site of Sriniwaspuri. It is an established fact that this is Government of India/L&DO land and you have unauthorisedly occupied/encroached upon this Government Land. Further, as per the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India judgment dated 29.09.2009, it has been decided that no unauthorised construction shall be carried (out) or permitted in the name of temple, church, mosque, or gurdwara, etc on public streets, public parks or other public places, etc.”
The Ministry could not be reached for comment.
The temple is called Neelkanth Mahadev Mandir in Sriniwaspuri region.
“Being the land-owning agency of Government of India, it is hereby informed to vacate the entire premises unauthorised construction in the name of religious structure, within seven days from the date of issue of this notice, failing which the same will be got evicted forcefully and demolished with the help of local police,” states the notice dated April 13.
AAP MLA Atishi, who led the protest on Saturday, said: “BJP is not only bulldozing the temple but the faith of crores of people just because it wants to loot money from the temple’s gullak. AAP has made up its mind — we will not allow BJP to demolish the temple; we are standing here with the people of Sriniwaspuri and we will fight back. No matter how much force BJP puts in, AAP will not allow bulldozers to run over a single temple in Delhi.”
In response, BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana said it was a “rumour”. “There is nothing like this… The BJP government at the Centre is not going to demolish any temple. These are just rumours. They are showing a so-called notice; nobody knows where that notice came from. The people of Delhi are angry with the Kejriwal government that they have not uttered a word against the stone pelting on people at the Hanuman Mandir. These rumours are being spread to divert attention from these issues,” he said.
The row comes days after the North MCD ordered an anti-encroachment drive in riot-hit Jahangirpuri where several structures, including the outer gate of a mosque, were taken down.
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