New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the redevelopment of the Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge alleging that he wants to erase every historical heritage to “simply affix” his own nameplate.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also attacked the Modi government over the issue, saying “destroying the country’s religious and historical heritage in the name of development, for the commercial interests of a few individuals, is a grave sin”.
In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said, “You have committed the crime of demolishing the rare ancient heritage of Manikarnika Ghat, which was described in the Gupta period and later restored by Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar, under the pretext of renovation.” In the name of beautification and commercialisation, Prime Minister Modi has ordered “bulldozers to demolish centuries-old religious, cultural, and spiritual heritage at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi”, he said.
“Narendra Modi ji… You want to erase every historical heritage and simply affix your own nameplate,” Kharge said in his post.
Priyanka Gandhi called the “demolition” of centuries-old religious and cultural heritage at the ghat “extremely unfortunate”.
“Manikarnika Ghat and its antiquity hold immense religious significance, and it is also associated with the memories of Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar,” she said in a post in Hindi on X.
“Destroying the country’s religious and historical heritage in the name of development, for the commercial interests of a few individuals, is a grave sin. Even before this, many centuries-old temples in Varanasi have been demolished in the name of renovation,” Priyanka Gandhi alleged.
These “conspiracies” to erase the religious, spiritual, and cultural identity of Kashi must be stopped immediately, she said.
Protestors have opposed a demolition drive under the redevelopment plan of the Manikarnika Ghat and alleged damage to a century-old idol of Ahilyabai Holkar, a charge refuted by the Varanasi district administration.
District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar on Wednesday said artefacts had been “secured” by the culture department and would be reinstalled in their original form after the work is completed.
He added that the revamp was aimed at improving sanitation and space management at the ghat which witnesses a large number of cremations daily.
According to Kharge, small and large temples and shrines were “demolished” in the name of a corridor and it is now the turn of the ancient ghats.
Kashi, the world’s oldest city, is a confluence of spirituality, culture, education, and history that attracts the entire world, the Congress chief said.
“Is the intention behind all this again to benefit your business associates? You have handed over water, forests, and mountains to them, and now it’s the turn of our cultural heritage,” Kharge alleged.
“The people of the country have two questions for you: Couldn’t restoration, cleaning, and beautification have been done while preserving the heritage? The entire country remembers how your government, without any consultation, removed the statues of great Indian personalities, including Mahatma Gandhi and Babasaheb Ambedkar, from the Parliament complex and placed them in a corner,” Kharge said.
At the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial, the sacrifices of our freedom fighters were erased from the walls in the name of this same “renovation”, he claimed.
Why were the centuries-old statues at Manikarnika Ghat, which fell victim to the bulldozers, destroyed and reduced to rubble, he asked.
“Couldn’t they have been preserved in a museum? You claimed, ‘Maa Ganga has called me’. Today, you have forgotten Maa Ganga. The ghats of Varanasi are the identity of Varanasi. Do you want to make these ghats inaccessible to the public?” Kharge said.
Millions of people come to Kashi every year in the final stages of their lives to attain salvation, he said and asked the prime minister if his “intention is to betray the faith of these devotees”.
The protest, which began on Tuesday, was led by members of the Pal Samaj Samiti and supported by sections of the Marathi community and other local groups.
Mahendra Pal of the Samiti claimed that the century-old idol of Holkar at the ghat was removed during the demolition drive. Ajay Sharma, president of the Sanatan Rakshak Dal, alleged that several consecrated idols at the ghat were damaged, calling it an affront to religious sentiments.
Congress’s Uttar Pradesh president, Ajay Rai, accused the BJP government of destroying the historic Manikarnika Ghat in the name of renovation, calling it “an attack on the city’s soul and Sanatan culture”.
The Manikarnika Ghat is among the oldest and most sacred cremation grounds in Hinduism and is believed to grant ‘moksha’, or liberation from the cycle of birth and death, giving it immense religious and cultural significance. PTI ASK KVK KVK
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