Demolition of Guru Ravidas Temple in Tughlaqabad area on Southeast Delhi has snowballed into a political controversy after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati launched an attack on the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Responding to Mayawati’s barbs, Delhi Chief Minister Arvijd Kejriwal tried to set the records straight and denied any involvement in the demolition of the highly revered temple by the authorities.
"The Delhi Government had nothing to do with the demolition of the Guru Ravidas temple in Tughlaqabad", Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday", after BSP supremo Mayawati alleged that the incident was a result of a collusion between the Centre and the AAP dispensation.
"Mayawati ji, we all are deeply anguished. We strongly oppose it. I feel sad that you consider us guilty along with the Centre. In Delhi, land comes under the central government. We have nothing to do with the demolition of this temple," he tweeted in Hindi.
Earlier in the day, the BSP president alleged that the demolition of the Ravidas temple in the national capital's Tughlaqabad area was a result of collusion between the Centre and the Delhi government, and it reflected a "casteist mentality".
She also demanded that the temple be reconstructed. On Tuesday, Union Housing and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said that the Centre is determined to find a solution and possibly identify an alternative site to "relocate" the temple.
"We, along with Vice Chairman of DDA, are determined to find a solution and possibly identify an alternative site where the temple can be relocated. "We have also suggested to the affected parties to appeal to Hon'ble Court to issue necessary directions in this regard," Puri had tweeted on Tuesday.
AAP had already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, demanding to restore a year-old temple of Sant Ravidas Ji at Tughlagabad that was "demolished" by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) recently.