Lucknow: The entry of a ‘cow eater is sure to violate the purity of the site’ is what a nagar panchayat chairman in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district had to say about leading a group of local activists who “purified” a temple after a visit by a Muslim MLA.
The incident involves Samajwadi Party’s Domariyaganj MLA Saiyada Khatoon and a group led by Dharmaraj Verma, nagar panchayat member from Barhni Chafa who contested municipal polls in May this year with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On Sunday afternoon, a group led by Verma was seen sprinkling gangajal and panchgavya (milk, urine, dung, ghee, and curd) within the temple premises amid Vedic chants, the day after Khatoon visited the temple in Balua village dedicated to ‘Samay Mata’.
Speaking to media persons Sunday, Verma said that if “a cow eater enters such a site, the purity and divinity of the temple gets violated”. He further chastised his “own people (Hindus)” for inviting the MLA to take part in a ‘Shatchandi Mahayajna’.
“This site of the goddess is very pure. Not only people from our nagar panchayat but also those from neighbouring districts turn up here for a darshan of the goddess and to get their wishes fulfilled. Yesterday, the Shatchandi yagya was organised here where some of our own people called the local MLA Saiyada Khatoon and tried to tease the Hindus,” he said.
Verma added that the temple’s “purity and divinity” were sure to be violated if a “cow eater” is allowed to enter. “Yesterday, when she (Khatoon) came here, we felt that since this temple of ours is the centre of devotion of lakhs of people, this has harmed the common Hindu public and I came here with my supporters and workers,” he told reporters.
Khatoon, meanwhile, said she visited the temple in Balua village at the invitation of locals.
Speaking to ThePrint, Khatoon said she was invited by local pundits from Gahraula gram sabha to participate in the yagya and that this was not her first time visiting a temple.
“I visited the Samay Mata Dham upon invitation from locals of the area and the saints who participated in the yagya. After the yagya was held near a revered peepal tree at the dham, I visited the temple since there is no boundary wall between the two. I respect all religions and will continue to visit such sites in the future as well,” she said.
“As an MLA, I got two Hindu temples in my constituency renovated. I am a representative of people of all communities,” she added.
Asked about Verma, Khatoon called him a “madman who became panchayat chairman accidentally and is trying to garner attention with such acts”.
According to Irfan Malik, the son of five-time MLA late Kamal Yusuf Malik, Muslim politicians in the region have in the past participated in religious events organised by the Hindu community, besides laying the foundation stones of Hindu religious sites.
“Muslim leaders including freedom fighter and ex-Congress MP Kazi Jalil Abbasi and five-time MLA Kamal Yusuf Malik participated in events held at Hindu religious sites. The foundation of the temple at Domariyaganj’s main chauraha (intersection), one of the oldest temples, was laid by both of them in the 1980s. Foundation stones of several temples in the area have been laid by Malik,” he told ThePrint.
Malik added, “If a temple becomes impure by a Muslim visiting it, then what about the big temples and mutts where Muslims go with faith? The worst thing that the panchayat nagar chairman said is that those eating cows should not enter temples. What kind of statement is this for an MLA in an area which has been an example of Hindu-Muslim unity.”
As for Verma, the party’s Siddharthnagar unit confirmed that he had contested the nagar panchayat elections held with the BJP’s support. “Since he (Verma) was a potential candidate, he was given a party symbol. He belongs to the VHP (Vishva Hindu Parishad),” BJP’s Siddharthnagar district president Kanhaiya Paswan told ThePrint.
Verma was also in the news in October this year after reports surfaced suggesting that his supporters had prevented Domariyaganj MP and BJP leader Jagdambika Pal from climbing up the stage during a jagran. Pal later issued a statement denying the reports.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)