New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Tuesday alleged that an order was issued by a panel on the “directions of Lt Governor VK Saxena” for demolition of multiple Hindu and Buddhist religious structures, a charge refuted by the Governor’s office as “cheap politics”.
The Lt Governor secretariat in a statement said neither are any temples, mosques, churches or any other place of worship being demolished, nor has any file in this regard was received by it.
In a letter to Mr Saxena, the chief minister said she was informed that the ‘Religious Committee’, in a meeting on November 22, ordered for demolition of the religious structures in the national capital.
It has been decided by the Religious Committee “on your directions, and with your approval” to demolish multiple religious structures across Delhi, the chief minister claimed.
In a sharp reply, the Lt Governor secretariat alleged that the chief minister is playing “cheap politics” to divert attention from her as well as her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal’s “failures”.
“If at all, the Governor has issued strict instructions to the police to maintain extra vigil against forces who may indulge in deliberate vandalism for political benefits. His instructions are being strictly followed, as was witnessed during the just gone Christmas celebrations which did not see any untoward incident,” the Lt Governor secretariat said.
In her letter, Atishi said the list of religious structures to be demolished includes many temples and Buddhist places of worship. The religious structures were situated at West Patel Nagar, Dilshad Garden, Sunder Nagri, Seema Puri, Gokal Puri and Usmanpur, as per the list furnished by the chief minister.
Atishi requested Mr Saxena in her letter to prevent “demolition” of the religious structures, saying it would hurt the sentiments of the communities concerned.
Earlier, all decisions of the Religious Committee were sent to the Governor’s office via chief minister and the home minister, she said, adding the government would then ensure that no religious sentiments were hurt due to such action, she said.
The chief minister said an order was issued last year by the Lt Governor’s office stating that demolition of religious structures is a matter related to “public order” and would be directly under the purview of Mr Saxena.
“Since then the work of the Religious Committee has been directly monitored by you. All files of the Religious Committee are routed from the Home department to the Lt Governor office, completely bypassing the chief minister and the home minister,” she said in the letter to Mr Saxena.
