Midnight Demolition In Delhi's Shalimar Bagh: Opposition Sees Motive, BJP Rejects Charge

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) A couple of Opposition leaders, along with Muslim clerics including All India Imam Association President Maulana Sajid Rashidi, lashed out at the BJP government over mid-night bulldozer action on the Madina Mosque and adjoining structures in city's Shalimar Bagh area. The ruling party however supported the move and advised the former to avoid giving a "political colour" to the demolition undertaken in larger public interest.

Speaking to IANS, Muslim cleric Maulana Sajid Rashidi remarked that if a construction is illegal, why was it demolished at night and not during the day?

"You saw what happened in Saharanpur with the Collectorate Mosque. Although there were no demolition orders, it was demolished at around 3-4 am on the pretext of sealing it. The same thing has happened with the Shalimar mosque. If you have orders for the demolition, what difficulty is there in carrying it out during the day?", he told IANS.

He alleged that such actions are deliberately carried out in this manner to increase hatred between Hindus and Muslims.

"There is a section among Hindus that does not want Muslims to live in India, does not want them to remain happy, and does not want Muslims living in India to freely practise their religion despite equal rights being granted by the Constitution," he claimed.

Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad added: "The Bharatiya Janata Party only wants to remain in power in this country by dividing people, weakening the principle of unity in diversity, and spreading the poison of communalism in the state and the country."

"The upcoming 2027 election in Uttar Pradesh will be historic. That election will signal that the days of the Bharatiya Janata Party are over...It will be defeated badly," he told IANS.

Congress leader Abhishek Dutt remarked that scarring people has become the "status symbol" of the BJP.

He questioned why can't the houses of accused who are involved in crimes against women in the capital or those indulging in donation theft at Ayodhya's Ram Temple, be demolished?

"This government is only engaged in diverting attention from real issues and creating differences between Hindus and Muslims, rather than ensuring safety of women," he told IANS.

Earlier in the day, AIMIM Delhi President Shoaib Jamai told IANS,“According to the mosque's Imam and locals, they weren't even given time to retrieve the Holy Quran. This is the height of oppression, secretly carrying out such actions in the dark without the knowledge of Delhi or the nation."

However, the BJP defended the demolition action.

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said: "If the action was taken in accordance with the law, then I believe the concerned religious committee must also have been consulted. Whatever happened was certainly done according to the circumstances. And, if there is any illegal construction, action is taken against it as per the law. The same has happened in this case, and I do not think it is right to give this matter any kind of political colour for political purposes.”

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