Bengaluru, May 17: Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Tuesday warned a Hindu group not to challenge law and order following their claim that the Masjid-e-Ala at Srirangapatna in Mandya district was a Hanuman temple and they should be allowed to worship there.

A fringe group called 'Narendra Modi Vichar Manch' (NMVM) recently approached the Mandya deputy commissioner on May 13 claiming that the Masjid-e-Ala was 'Moodala Bagilu Anjaneya Swami temple', which the 18th century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan had destroyed and built a mosque over it.

The group led by C T Manjunath, secretary, demanded that Hindus should be allowed to perform prayers to Hanuman inside the mosque.

Reacting to the incident, Jnanendra said he was aware of the development. And called upon people not to challenge law and order to resolve the dispute on their own.

"If anyone challenges law and order then they will be dealt with accordingly. Hence, everyone should live harmoniously. We will go by the court order," he added.

In his petition to the deputy commissioner of Mandya, Manjunath said many historians have documented the existence of Moodala Bagilu Anjaneya Swami Temple, which Tipu Sultan had allegedly destroyed during his regime and converted into a mosque.

"The Mysuru Gazzettier by Luis Rice, the proceedings of the royal court, the life of Maharaja, Tareekh-e-Tipu and Hyder-e-Nishani and the letter written by Tipu to the Khalifa of Persia to prove our point."

"Hence, we request you to please review the documents of the archeology department and make provisions for Hindus to legally offer their prayers to Moodalabagilu Anjaneya Swami Temple (the existing mosque), Manjunath wrote in his petition to the deputy commissioner.

Later, in a video message sent to the media houses, a member of the NMVM demanded that a survey on the lines of Gyanvapi Masjid should be conducted at Masjid-e-Ala to find out the truth.

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Mumbai: Senior politician and constitutional expert Prakash Ambedkar has opined that Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar should invite the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam President Vijay to form the government as his party emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly elections.

Ambedkar, who is a Mumbai-based advocate, activist and also the grandson of Dr. BR Ambedkar, is a former Parliamentarian.

Citing articles from the Constitution and similar incidents in the political history of the nation, Prakash Ambedkar has explained why Vijay cannot be stopped from forming the government in Tamil Nadu, reports Deccan Herald.

“Merely doubt over whether the TVK has the necessary number cannot suffice to withhold the invitation to the party to form the government. The Governor should invite Vijay, President of TVK, the single-largest party, to form the government and assume office as the next Chief Minister. After taking charge, as per the Article 164 (2) of the Constitution, Vijay will have to prove that his government has a majority in the House,” Ambedkar explained.

He also gave examples from India’s political history supporting his argument.

Ambedkar cited the example of the 1989 Lok Sabha elections and said that, although the Congress (I) emerged the single-largest party with 194 seats, Rajiv Gandhi declined the invitation by President R Venkataraman to form the government. “My friend Vishwanath Pratap Singh, leader of the National Front, was then invited and sworn in as Prime Minister on December 2, 1989,” he added.

He then recalled the 1996 elections to the Lower House of the Parliament, when the BJP emerged the single-largest party, but the Parliament was hung as the BJP lacked a majority. “Atal Bihari Vajpayee was invited by President Shankar Dayal Sharma to form the government and was sworn in as Prime Minister. Vajpayee resigned 13 days later on May 28, 1996, after failing to secure majority support in the Lok Sabha,” Ambedkar explained.