The Samajwadi Party has alleged that the temple of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at Bharatkund in Ayodhya has been built by "Bharatiya Janata Party supporters" to "grab" the barren land owned by an individual.

In a tweet on Saturday, the SP also attached a newspaper report in which a native of Ayodhya alleged that his nephew got the temple constructed on his land on the Ayodhya -Prayagraj highway, 25 kilometres from the temple town of Ayodhya, without his permission.

The temple has a life size ‘idol’ of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, having a bow and arrows and a halo around his head. The ‘idol’ is clad in a saffron robe.

Special prayers are being offered twice every day at the temple, followed by morning and evening prayers. Prasad is also distributed to the "devotees".

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet “The uncle of the person who has built the temple has complained to the chief minister himself that the temple has been built with the intention of taking illegal possession of his land. Now, the chief minister should tell whether he will take action against the 'land mafia' or a special squad will come from Delhi."

The SP separately issued a tweet from its official handle in which it attached the clipping of a newspaper report carrying the complainant's version against his nephew and said, "The biggest land mafia is the BJP! To grab the barren land in Ayodhya, BJP supporters built a temple of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on it. Very embarrassing! How much more will the BJP stoop? Get the matter investigated and take action against the culprits under the National Security Act."

Prabhakar Maurya, who got the temple built, had earlier said, "We have built the temple of Yogiji, who is building the temple of Lord Ram." Maurya had said he was deeply impressed by Yogi Adityanath's works.

"The chief minister has acquired a deity-like place because of the public welfare works he has undertaken. That is why the idea of a temple for him came to my mind," he has said.