Jaipur (PTI): A local court in Ajmer on Wednesday directed that notice be issued to three parties in a civil suit which claims that there is a Shiva temple in the dargah of sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, the plaintiff's advocate said.
Advocate Yogesh Siroja told reporters in Ajmer that the suit was heard in the court of Civil Judge Manmohan Chandel.
The suit, claiming that there is a Shiva temple in the dargah, was filed in September seeking directions to start the worship in the temple again.
He said notices have been issued to Ajmer Dargah Committee, Ministry of Minority Affairs and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) office in New Delhi seeking their response.
Plaintiff Vishnu Gupta said, "Our demand was that the Ajmer dargah should be declared as Sankat Mochan Mahadev Temple and if the dargah has any kind of registration, then it should be cancelled. Its survey should be done through ASI and Hindus should be given the right to worship there."
The next hearing is on December 20.
The development takes place close on the heels of violence that took place in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh killing four people and injuring many including policemen, when a local court ordered survey of a mosque which petitioners said was built after destroying an old temple.
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Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday described the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as “anti-secular”, claiming that it would snatch the rights of Muslims.
Banerjee, speaking in the assembly, also said the Centre did not consult with states over the matter.
“The bill is anti-federal and anti-secular; it is a deliberate attempt to malign a particular section. It will snatch the rights of Muslims... The Centre did not consult with us on the Waqf Bill,” she said.
The chief minister added that “if any religion was attacked”, she would wholeheartedly condemn it.
Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging that they violate the religious rights of Muslims.
The ruling BJP has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency in the functioning of the Waqf boards and make them accountable.
A parliamentary committee has been constituted to scrutinise the contentious bill.