New Delhi: While the legal tussle continues over ‘scientific survey’ of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) team, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday made a big statement on the controversy surrounding the complex.
At the very outset, Yogi Adityanath questioned the ‘Muslim character’ of the complex and said that if we call Gyanvapi a mosque, this will lead to controversy. He also said that it was time to admit the ‘historical mistake’ and make necessary correction.
“Gyanvapi ko masjid kahenge, toh vivaad hoga”, CM Yogi said in conversation with ANI editor Smita Prakash.
The Chief Minister raised questions over presence of Hindu symbols inside the complex and asked if anyone can explain the reason behind it.
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“What is Trishul doing inside the complex? We didn’t put it there. There is Jyotirlinga. There are sculptures of deities inside, building walls have carvings which speak volumes about its Hindu roots”, CM Yogi said.
The Chief Minister further said that Muslim side should come forward with a proposal and present a solution to the historic wrong.
He said that for any right-minded person, it wouldn’t be difficult to understand the ‘origins & roots’ of the Gyanvapi complex as “there are scores of evidence to prove that it was a Hindu temple”, as claimed in the petition by the Hindu side in court.
For the unversed, the matter is in court. The trial court recently gave permission to ASI team to survey the controversial complex and ‘bring out truth of structure by carbon dating & other scientific methods’. However, the ASI survey was stopped on Day 1 itself, following Supreme Court order.
Currently, the Allahabad High Court has put a stay on any survey of the complex till August 3.
CM Yogi also slammed the new I.N.D.I.A block of Opposition parties and called it a ‘cosmetic change’. He said that by merely changing external outlook, they can’t absolve themselves of past misdeeds.
