Mathura: Uttar Pradesh minister Laxmi Narain Chaudhary has rhetorically asked if the Krishna temple is not built in Mathura, will it be built in Lahore in Pakistan.
The supposed temple site, which is a subject of multiple lawsuits, is located inside an Aurangzeb-era mosque in Mathura and shares its premises with a prominent temple.
The minister said the Krishna temple will be complete if it is constructed on the entire land up to the remains of Kans Qila, an area which includes the Shahi Idgah mosque.
“The area of the temple should stretch up to the dilapidated wall of Kans Qila,” Chaudhary told reporters.
“If the Krishna temple will not be built in Mathura, would it be built in Lahore,” he had asked.
His remarks came days after the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha was denied permission for installation and ‘jalabhishek’ of Lord Krishna’s idol on December 6 at the Idgah adjoining the Krishna temple.
The district administration on November 28 had imposed prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144.
Meanwhile, another UP minister Anand Swarup Shukla said the Muslim community should come forward and hand over ‘safed bhawan’ (white structure) at the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura to Hindus.
He said while the court had resolved the Ayodhya issue, the white structures’ in Kashi (Varanasi) and Mathura hurt Hindus.
He was apparently referring to the Muslim religious structures at the two places.
“A time will come when the white structure in Mathura that hurts every Hindu will be removed with the help of the court. Dr Ram Manohar Lohia had said that the Muslims of India would have to believe that Ram and Krishna were their ancestors and that Babar, Akbar and Aurangzeb were attackers. Do not associate yourself with any building built by them,” Shukla, the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, had told reporters on Monday evening.