Lucknow: Defending the survey at Sambhal’s Shahi Jama Masjid, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said in the Assembly that the atmosphere deteriorated after two days of the court-ordered exercise due to the nature of speeches given during Friday prayers.
He said that Baburnama, memoirs of the founder of the Mughal Empire Babur, also mentions that the structure was built by demolishing the Harihar temple.
Four people were killed after violence erupted in Sambhal last month during protests against the survey of the mosque which was ordered by a court after a petition claimed that it was the site of the Harihar temple and sought permission to worship there.
“They (the opposition) are trying to cover up the truth, but no one can hide the sun, moon and truth for long. The truth will soon come out,” Adityanath said while responding to the demand of Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey and other SP members for a discussion on the recent violence in Sambhal and Bahraich along with similar incidents.
Adityanath rejected suggestions that chants of Jai Sri Ram and Hindu religious processions passing from Muslim-dominated areas provoked communal tension.
Where is it written in the Constitution that a Hindu procession cannot be taken out in a Muslim-dominated area, the chief minister asked.
“When you stop it, the reaction from the Hindu side also comes that we will also not let it go. I am surprised by these things that the procession will not be allowed in front of the mosque. Does this road belong to anyone? It is a public road, how can you stop anyone?
“There was a traditional procession in Bahraich too and all arrangements were completed to take that traditional procession forward. But to say that provocative slogans were being raised. The slogan of Jai Shri Ram is not provocative, it is the slogan of our devotion, a symbol of our faith.
“Tomorrow, if I tell you that we do not like the slogan of Allahu Akbar, will you like it?
“Our heritage is so vast and ancient… I can spend my whole life with the salutations of Jai Shri Ram, Har Har Mahadev and Radhe Radhe. We do not need any other salutation,” he said.
