New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of demolishing 24 temples in the national capital between 2016 and 2023.
In Frame: Shehzad Poonawalla
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla cited documents while claiming that AAP leaders issued orders to demolish 24 temples during their reign in the national capital.
The AAP, led by Arvind Kejriwal, has ruled Delhi for more than a decade.
Kejriwal issued ‘fatwas’ to destroy the temples, according to Shehzad Poonawalla.
“The documents that have come into the public domain through the media clearly show that there is no party more deceitful in this country and the world than the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Those who accuse others, what is their own history? From 2016 to 2023, documents with signatures show how the AAP chief minister and ministers issued fatwas to demolish nearly 24 structures,” he said.
According to the BJP leader, former home minister Satyendra Jain gave instructions in 2016 to demolish eight temples but stepped in to preserve two mosques that were not named.
“In 2016, a fatwa to demolish 8 temples was issued under the signature of Satyendra Jain, who was the home minister at the time. The interesting thing is that Satyendra Jain intervened to save two unidentified mosques that had no historical background, but he never spoke out about the temples,” he said.
He said the AAP is the biggest anti-Hindu party in India.
“Today, the biggest anti-Hindu party is the Aam Aadmi Party. They and their alliance partners, DMK, TMC, Left and Congress, always speak against Sanatan Dharma, however, AAP says nothing in response. And now they claim they will give compensation to the priests,” he said.
Atishi’s allegations on BJP
Atishi, the chief minister of Delhi, charged the BJP on January 1 of ordering the destruction of many temples in the nation’s capital. She said that at a meeting of the Religious Committee on November 22, it was planned to destroy a Buddhist temple in Sundar Nagari and a number of temples in West Patel Nagar, Dilshad Garden, Seemapuri, Gokalpuri, New Usmanpur, and Sultanpuri.
“These directives expose the BJP’s duplicitous nature. They secretly order their appointed officers and LG to demolish temples while simultaneously pretending to defend Hinduism,” she stated at a press conference.
