Shiv Sena has no role in temple movement: UP Dy CM
Ayodhya, Nov 25 : Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya Sunday disapproved of the Shiv Sena's push for constructing a Ram temple here, saying the party had no role in the temple movement.
Maurya's remarks came a day after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray asked the BJP-led NDA government to declare a date for the construction of the Ram temple.
"There is no problem in Uddhav Thackeray catching a glimpse of Ram Lalla... But, had Balasaheb Thackeray been alive, he would have prevented Uddhav from doing whatever he is doing, Maurya told PTI on the phone.
The Shiv Sena had no role in the temple movement or even in the Dharam Sabha, though Balasaheb Thackeray would support the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, he said.
He said Uddhav Thackeray should take the VHP, "which is leading such a large-scale movement, along with his party. There is no point creating a divide".
The deputy chief minister, who was part of the VHP during the Ram temple movement, said, The devotees of Lord Ram know who can actually make a sacrifice now and who had made a sacrifice earlier.
Maurya also denounced Akhilesh Yadav's statement that the Army must be deployed for the Dharam Sabha, saying the remarks showed the Samajwadi Party chief's frustration.
Referring to the firing on the Kar Sevaks in Ayodhya in 1990, he said, "If Akhilesh Yadav is thinking that a 1990-like situation will prevail, then this will not happen under the government headed by Yogi Adityanath. We will provide adequate security to all and take necessary action."
"This is a Dharam Sabha, and there is no need to deploy the Army, and Akhilesh Yadav must understand this," the UP deputy chief minister said.
Asked about a section of the Muslim community feeling apprehensive about the event, he said, "No one needs to fear (anything). There is peace in Uttar Pradesh. The government has made elaborate security arrangements to ensure that no untoward incident takes place."
Maurya said, A large section of the Muslim community wants a temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi. However, some political parties that indulge in appeasement politics are trying their best to create hindrances."
The BJP supports the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, and it has assumed the shape of a national movement. For the BJP, Ram temple has never been an election issue, but has been a matter of faith and devotion. There is no point in deriving any electoral mileage from this issue, he added.
The UP's deputy chief minister also made it clear that no mosque, memorial or tomb (maqbara) in the name of Babar will be allowed to come up at Ram Janmabhoomi.
Asked about a date for the construction of Ram temple, Maurya said, Till the time the matter is pending in the Supreme Court, neither the BJP nor other organizations associated with the temple movement can tell the dates. This is the job of the VHP, the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and the seers. The BJP will lend its moral support to this movement.
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BJP's Suvendu urges Bengal Guv to order independent judicial inquiry into Messi event fiasco
Kolkata(PTI): Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday wrote to Governor C V Ananda Bose, seeking an independent judicial inquiry into “administrative incompetence” and “public humiliation of citizens”at the Salt Lake Stadium here during an event featuring football legend Lionel Messi.
In his letter, Adhikari alleged that the stadium, built with public funds, was converted into a “private durbar” for political elites, resulting in humiliation and harassment of spectators who had purchased tickets.
"I write this communication with a profound sense of anguish, constitutional alarm, and moral urgency. What unfolded at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan was not merely an episode of administrative incompetence, it was a public humiliation of citizens, a grotesque exhibition of unrestrained political privilege, and a direct assault on the rule of law in the presence of thousands of witnesses," Adhikari asserted.
He claimed that football fans were denied basic amenities and dignified viewing due to unchecked VIP presence, obstruction of sightlines, and arbitrary restrictions.
Chaos unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, after spectators resorted to vandalism on failing to catch a glimpse of Messi, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of views by VIPs.
Police arrested the event’s prime organiser, Satadru Datta, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to probe the incident.
Adhikari, in his letter, held the sports department, police authorities and the minister-in-charge of sports and youth affairs responsible, alleging that the situation was “enabled, if not orchestrated”, by the state administration.
He claimed that the conduct of the authorities reflected indifference to public accountability and misuse of power.
The senior BJP leader also took exception to the inquiry committee announced by the chief minister, contending that it lacked independence and credibility.
Adhikari said the panel is headed by Justice (Retd) Asim Ray, who currently holds a statutory post under the administrative control of the state government, and includes senior bureaucrats whose actions are under scrutiny.
"This committee is structurally compromised, legally infirm, and morally indefensible," he said in the letter to the governor.
Adhikari urged Bose to exercise his constitutional authority to order the formation of a truly independent inquiry committee.
He proposed that the committee be headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, and assisted by persons of unimpeachable integrity with no institutional, administrative or political affiliation with the state government.
“The issue transcends football, politics, and personalities. It concerns the right of citizens to be treated with dignity, the obligation of the state to act as trustee of public interest, and the duty of constitutional authorities to intervene when the executive becomes a law unto itself,” Adhikari said.
Later, speaking to reporters, he accused the state government of mismanaging the situation at Salt Lake Stadium, and demanded the resignation of the CM.
Adhikari said all those responsible for the fiasco should be arrested, and spectators must be provided refunds.
He alleged that senior Trinamool Congress leaders and their associates crowded around Messi, leaving thousands of fans at the stadium deprived of catching a clear glimpse of the football star.
“This was a case of misuse of power at the cost of ordinary citizens. The chief minister must take moral responsibility, those responsible for the incident should be arrested, and every fan who was cheated must get a refund,” Adhikari asserted.
He added that public anger would not subside without accountability and corrective action.
