PCC General Secretary G Niranjan on Thursday disputed the old photographs of historic Charminar to reiterate his claim that the Bhagyalakshmi Temple abutting the monument exists for a long time.
Niranjan claimed that the temple was not visible in the pictures as they were taken from a long distance. However, he admitted that till 1979, it was just a two-three feet idol and after it got damaged after being hit by a RTC bus, the then Chief Minister Marri Chenna Reddy ordered the construction of a temple through Endowments Department.
Niranjan addressed a presser at Vasavi Seva Kendra at Khairtabad along with some senior citizens of Old City including Dharamchand Tayal (76), Naga Hanumantha Rao (76), Mallesh Goud (69) and Raj Ratnam (63). These senior citizens claimed that they have been performing pooja at the temple since their childhood. Niranjan said he was now 61-year-old and he has been visiting the temple and also the Chilla abutting the Charminar since he was five.
Niranjan claimed that in almost all the villages of Telangana, a three-stone diety is worshipped at the corner of the village seeking protection. He said Bhagyalakshmi Temple’s diety was installed for the same purpose. He said there was a clear mention about special poojas performed during the historic plague and Musi floods that devasted Hyderabad. He further claimed that Mir Mahboob Ali Pasha, the sixth Nizam, had sent pooja articles for the temple in a silver plate during the Musi floods of 1908.
The PCC leader alleged that a particular English newspaper was trying to distort the history by publishing false information about the existence of the temple.
Niranjan also denied having any relations with the Sangh Parivar. He said he would quit politics if anyone proves charges against him. He condemned one Urdu newspaper for publishing baseless stories against him to tarnish his secular image. He said he was more secular than a few leaders who also own the Urdu newspaper.
Stating that he was secular without any suspicion, Niranjan said that he was only countering a wrong claim by a particular newspaper that could mislead the general public in the city. He said Charminar belongs to all Hyderabadis and it was the responsibility of all citizens to protect it.
–Agencies