New Delhi: Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, said Monday that Hindus will not look at other places of worship situated where they believe a temple once stood, if “our three temples are freed” — the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya, Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi and Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura.
He made the remarks during a press conference in Alandi, near Pune, where events are being organised from 4-11 February as part of Govind Dev Giri Maharaj’s 75th birthday celebrations.
“Teen mandir mutk hone par hum anya mandiron pe dhyaan dene ki iccha bhi nahin karte hain kyon ki hum logon ko bhavishya kaal mein jeena hai bhoot kaal mein nahin jeena hai; desh ka bhavishya accha hona chahiye issliye yadi samajhdari ke sath ye teen mandir hum logon ko mil jaate hain hum saari anya baatein bhool jaayenge,” he said.
(We do not even wish to look at other temples if three of our temples are freed because we have to live in the future and not in the past; the country’s future should be bright which is why if we get these three temples intelligently we will forget all other matters)
Govind Dev Giri Maharaj also spoke about the ‘scars’ left behind by the demolition of temples in parts of the country during the reign of Mughal emperors and urged Indian Muslims to understand the pain associated with these events. He even suggested that resolving these disputes peacefully could strengthen brotherhood and unity in the country.
“With folded hands, I request you to hand over these three temples (Ayodhya, Gyanvapi and Krishna Janmabhoomi) because these are the biggest marks of the attacks on us by the invaders. If Muslim parties can heal this pain peacefully, it will help in improving brotherhood,” he said.
Meanwhile, with the controversy concerning rivalling claims over the Gyanvapi complex picking up pace, Lok Sabha MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi declared Monday that the Muslim side would not give up its claim to any mosque and would contest these claims in courts.
Hindu litigants cite the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey report to justify their assertion that the Gyanvapi mosque was built on the remains of a grand Hindu temple. A Varanasi district court last week granted the Hindu plaintiffs’ plea seeking permission to worship in the southern cellar of the 17th-century mosque. The Allahabad High Court declined to issue a stay on the order when approached by the Muslim plaintiffs.
“If tomorrow, we start digging Rashtrapati Bhavan, we are bound to find something. We have been offering namaz at the site for hundreds of years. We are not going to give any masjid, enough. We will fight in courts of law. If the other side wants to do a 6 December, we will see what happens. We have been deceived once. We will not be deceived again. In Gyanvapi, we have been offering namaz. The argument in the Babri Masjid case was that you (Muslims) are not praying over there. Here we are praying continuously. In fact, since 1993, no puja has been done”, Owaisi said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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