Akhilesh ‘shocked’ at demolition ofRavidas temple
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has expressed shock over the demolition of Sant Ravidas temple at Delhi by the Delhi Development Authority.
He said the demolition of the temple had deeply hurt the religious sentiments of the Dalit community across the country.
“Emotion of the Dalit community is closely linked with Sant Ravidas and the temple at Delhi. The demolition of the Sant Ravidas temple has exposed the anti-sant, mahatma mindset of the Bharatiya Janata Party,” the SP chief said.
He added, “We are shocked that Guru Ravidas temple in Delhi was demolished and we understand the anguish of the devotees as the Guru had himself visited and stayed there. We have great respect for Sant Ravidas. The shrine symbolises the Dalits’ struggle for their rights and must be rebuilt.”
Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the police action against people protesting in Delhi against the demolition of the temple. He said all those detained in connection with the protest should be released immediately and the criminal cases registered against them must be withdrawn.
Meanwhile, Bhim Army has threatened a mass movement against the Narendra Modi government if the party’s top leaders Chandrashekhar Azad and Vinay Ratan were not released immediately.
Chandrashekhar Azad and other Bhim Army leaders were arrested on August 21 in Delhi while protesting against the demolition of the Sant Ravidas temple.
It said the Bhim Army would take to the streets across western Uttar Pradesh if their leaders were not released immediately and were denied permission to reconstruct the temple.
The Bhim Army claimed that the Narendra Modi government was shielding behind the Supreme Court order and trying to hurt the image of their gods and goddesses and the latest move of demolishing the temple showed the Centre’s apathy towards the Dalit community.
The Delhi Development Authority had demolished the temple at Tughlaqabad on August 10 following a Supreme Court order.
A large group of Dalit activists then went on a rampage on August 21 and at least 80 cars were damaged during the violent protest. A few locals were also injured.
After the incident, the Delhi Police arrested more than 80 people, including Chandrashekhar Azad.
The apex court had stated that any attempt to politicise its order would be viewed as “contempt of court”. However, the matter has taken a political turn with various opposition parties voicing support for the protesters.
