NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday accused BJP’s top leadership of adopting “divisive tactics” as he strongly opposed attempts to get surveys done in mosques across the country to find out if temples existed underneath the structures. Kharge also said Congress and other opposition parties were opposed to the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024 and would continue to oppose it.
Asking BJP to pay heed to Mohan Bhagwat’s statement from 2022, Kharge quoted the RSS chief who had said, “Our aim was to construct a Ram temple and we should not find a Shivalay under every masjid.” He also referred to the Places of Worship Act 1991, which was enacted to maintain status quo of religious places as they existed in 1947.
“A (court) judgment was given, which has opened a Pandora’s box in the country. Now, surveys are being conducted everywhere, finding temples underneath mosques. Voices are growing in this regard,” he said.
Kharge’s remarks came in the wake of violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, where a survey is being conducted at a mosque to ascertain whether a temple existed there.
Addressing a ‘Maha Rally’ organised by the Dalit, OBC, Minorities and Adivasi Parisangh under the banner of ‘Save The Constitution’ at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, Kharge said, “PM Narendra Modi says ‘ek hain to safe hain’, but they are not letting anyone remain safe. You talk about unity, but your actions betray this. Your leader, Mohan Bhagwat, has said now that the Ram mandir has been built, there’s no need to search for more places of worship. If you respect his words, then why create further discord?”
Kharge asked BJP whether it would also demolish structures such as Red Fort, Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar and Char Minar, which were constructed by Muslims.