BJP stoking religious passions to divert people’s attention: Maya
LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party government, accusing it of stoking religious passions by raking up issues like Gyanvapi, Mathura and Taj Mahal. She also urged people to beware of the designs of the ruling BJP and its allied organisations.
“Such flaring up of passions on these issues so many years after Independence, as also the name change spree about places associated with a particular community is not good for the country. The BJP needs to be careful on the issue as things can deteriorate from here,” Mayawati said.
She said that such issues had been taken up deliberately as part of a “conspiracy”.
“These issues have been flagged by the BJP and its allied organizations which are targeting religious places at the moment to divert public attention from poverty, rising prices and unemployment,” Mayawati said.
This is the first time Mayawati has spoken on the Gyanvapi issue which is currently in the news, following a court-authorised survey of the Gyanvapi mosque. A lawyer from the Hindu side has claimed that a ‘Shivling’ was been found in the survey and the state’s deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has even claimed that ‘truth is out now’ in Gyanvapi case.
The three places Mayawati mentioned – Gyanvapi, Mathura and Taj Mahal – all are currently in the news. Earlier this month, a seer from Ayodhya was stopped while on way to the Taj Mahal where he had declared plans to hold a ‘Dharm Sansad’. Four activists of a right-wing organization were arrested in January for reciting Shiv Chalisa (verses in praises of Lord Shiva) inside the Taj Mahal, a little over two years after women from an RSS affliated body had offered ‘aarti’ at the Taj.
A petition has already been filed in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court, seeking that Taj should be declared as a ‘Shiv temple’. The BJP and VHP leaders have been stating that Taj was actually ‘Tejo Mahalaya’ – a Shiv temple.
In Mathura, July 1 has been fixed by a court for hearing on an application seeking survey of Shahi mosque adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi by advocate commissioner.
The BJP, however, dismissed Mayawati’s accusations.
“Behenji has been a former chief minister and should know that the BJP government had nothing to do with any of the issues that she raised. All the proceedings in Gyanvapi and other cases are taking place as per the directions of the court. It is surprising how low our politicians can stoop low for vote bank. Rather than crying hoarse just for appeasement, the opposition should wait for the court verdict. Our government is for ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’,” said UP BJP spokesman Harish Srivastava.