Gyanvapi row: Mayawati accuses BJP and its allies of trying to divert attention from real issues

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has launched a scathing attack against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging that it along with its allies has been trying to divert attention from real issues including inflation, poverty and unemployment by centralizing attention on religious places.

The BSP chief also warned that such an attempt could worsen the situation anytime creating a rift in society.

The BSP chief, in her statement issued on Wednesday, said:  “In order to divert the attention of the people reeling under the ever-rising poverty, unemployment, and inflation in the country, the BJP and its allied outfits are selectively targeting places of worship. This is manifest and it can worsen the situation here at any time”.

“After years of independence, now in the name of Gyanvapi, Mathura, Taj Mahal and other places, the religious sentiments of the people are being provoked under a conspiracy. This will weaken the social fabric of the country. BJP needs to mull about this,” added the BSP chief.

She further said that the attempt to change the names of places belonging to a particular religious community will not create peace, harmony and brotherhood in the nation. “Instead this will fuel hatred among the communities, which is quite worrying. Neither our country nor the general public can benefit from all this," she said.

It may be mentioned here that after a three-day survey of the Gyanvapit mosque complex by a court-appointed survey commission, claims of finding a shivlinga from the wuzu khana (where devotees do ablution before prayers) of the mosque have been made and the court ordered the district administration to seal the wuzu khana. However, the Muslim side is refuting the claim saying it was not shivlinga but a defunct fountain.