Hyderabad: Days after the inauguration of Telangana’s new Secretariat, politics around it continues, with the Opposition BJP repeatedly accusing the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of “hurting Hindu sentiments”.
On Sunday, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao inaugurated a swanky new Secretariat — Dr B.R. Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat — for the state. Built at an estimated cost of more than Rs 600 crore, the Secretariat stands in place of a Nizam-era structure. It will house a temple, a mosque and a church — much like the old one, which had a temple and two mosques.
The BJP, however, has objected to the design of the building, claiming that the cylindrical domes atop it follow Islamic architecture, and were adopted by the chief minister in an attempt to “appease” a “certain group of people”.
Speaking to the press a day before the Secretariat was inaugurated, Telangana BJP chief and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that it “hurt Hindu sentiments” and it was being built to please Asaduddin Owaisi and his Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
He claimed that the land allotted for the temple inside was half the size of the allotment for the mosque, and vowed that he would never enter the Secretariat premises until the domes were torn down.
He repeated those claims on 1 May, when he said in a tweet that the chief minister was “constructing a symbol of love” for Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, but ignored farmers who suffered crop losses following incessant and unseasonal rains.
When KCR’s focus is on constructing symbol of love for MIM, people are bound to suffer.
It’s #TormentedTelangana and #DrowningHyderabad
How many days will BRS govt fool people with Drone videos of village nurseries and flyovers? Reality is farmers are facing crop losses in…
— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (@bandisanjay_bjp) May 1, 2023
On its part, the Telangana government has clarified that the building’s architecture was inspired by temples of both Telangana and Gujarat, as well as the Deccan Kakatiya architecture.
Owaisi, too, has given a similar response. After a Twitter user named ‘Al Bhagwa’ claimed that the new building looked like a “makbara (tomb)”, the Hyderabad MP said the design was inspired by temples of Telangana and Gujarat.
Sir the design was inspired by Temples of Neelakanteshwara Swamy temple in Nizamabad,RajaPrasadas of Vanparthy Samasthanam,and Hanuman Temple Sarangpur Gujrat.
Will you still say …….
Ah a Waqf Registered Masjid was illegally demolished during the construction which has now… https://t.co/ssP60Rm64T
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 30, 2023
Speaking to ThePrint, BRS leader Manne Krishank, chairman of the Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation, said Bandi Sanjay “has no knowledge of architecture or history”.
“If demolition and destruction is their way, then they should first demolish Rashtrapati Bhavan or Supreme Court, because they have domes too. BJP has no contribution in making of Telangana, the state’s development or even the Secretariat. So they have no right to speak,” he added.
ThePrint reached Bandi Sanjay by text message for a comment. This report will be updated if and when he responds.
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Why ‘mandir’ and ‘masjid’ inside the Secretariat
Speaking Saturday, Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged that, with the new Secretariat, the KCR government was trying to keep AIMIM chief Owaisi and a “certain group of people” happy. If the BJP came to power, he said, they would build something that was modelled after “Telangana’s culture”.
Under construction for over two years, the new secretariat is one of the chief minister’s pet projects. Although the chief minister’s team pegs the project costs at Rs 550 crore, government sources estimated it at Rs 1,000 crore.
With bulletproof windows for the CM’s office, a royal dining room, and a sky lounge among its various highlights, the Secretariat is a grand ‘vaastu-compliant’ structure with 635 rooms. The entire complex has an area of 27.9 acres.
The idea of a new Secretariat was first mooted in 2017. Initially estimated to cost Rs 400 crore, the project had seen opposition, not only from rival parties but also from citizens who challenged the demolition of the old Nizam-era building in the Telangana High Court.
After several setbacks, demolition of the old structure — which included a Nalla Pochamma temple and two mosques — began in July 2020.
Two months later, Chief Minister KCR promised to construct new places of worship — a temple, a mosque and a church — at the same location. The announcement came on the back of a meeting with a delegation of Muslim religious leaders and Owaisi.
The mosque would be handed over to the Telangana Waqf Board after its construction while the Nalla Pochamma temple being built would be given over to the endowment department, the chief minister had said then.
The foundation stone for the new mosque was laid in November 2021.
A source in the Telangana government’s Roads and Buildings Department told the Print that work on the mosque is still ongoing.
“The mosque is being constructed at the same spot which was agreed upon in the past,” the source said. “It might take a few more weeks at least for the mosque to be operational.”
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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