Congress MP Imran Masood on Thursday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party over a legal suit claiming a Shiva temple exists within the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan saying that such actions could “set the whole country on fire. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter, questioning the motives behind such disputes.
“Will they (BJP) burn the whole nation for their political benefit?” news agency ANI quoted Imran Masood as saying.
Masood added, “Such things will set the whole country on fire. What is happening? The PM should look into this matter, and the Supreme Court should take cognizance of this matter. Where do you want to sideline a whole community? You are not leaving their religious places and properties. Where do you want to sideline us?... Under which mosques will you look for temples? Is there any limit or not? They (the central government) have kept aside the Worship Act 1991. Will they (BJP) burn the whole nation for their political benefit?”
What is the dispute?
The controversy began after Vishnu Gupta, president of the National Hindu Army, filed a case claiming the presence of a Lord Shiva temple within Ajmer's Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah shrine. Gupta said on Wednesday the court had accepted their case and scheduled the next hearing for December 20.
{{/usCountry}}The controversy began after Vishnu Gupta, president of the National Hindu Army, filed a case claiming the presence of a Lord Shiva temple within Ajmer's Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah shrine. Gupta said on Wednesday the court had accepted their case and scheduled the next hearing for December 20.
{{/usCountry}}"Today, the court admitted our case and issued notices to the Dargah Committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey Department. The next date of hearing is 20th December," Gupta told ANI.
Meanwhile, Syed Naseruddin Chishty, Chairman of the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council, condemned the growing trend of various groups staking claims to mosques and dargahs.
"These incidents are on the rise in the country. Every second day we see groups claiming mosques and dargahs. This is not in the interest of our society and country. Today India is becoming a global power... Till when will we remain stuck in the temple and mosque controversy?" said Syed Naseruddin Chishty, Chairman of the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council.
Chishty called for the Central Government's intervention, urging it to create laws and issue guidelines to prevent claims on religious establishments. "Ajmer has a history of 850 years... I appeal to the government of India to intervene in this. A new law should be made and guidelines should be issued so that no one claims religious organisations such as these... In 2022, (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat had said that how long will we keep finding Shivalayas in mosques, and I agree with him," he said.
A Rajasthan court on Wednesday issued notices in response to a lawsuit filed by Hindu groups alleging the presence of a Hindu temple beneath the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah in Ajmer, seeking the right to worship at the site.
Civil judge Manmohan Chandel heard the case, titled “Bhagwan Shri Sankat Mochak Mahadev Virajman vs. Dargah Committee,” filed by Vishnu Gupta, president of the Hindu Sena, in September. The court sent notices to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Ajmer Dargah Committee, and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), who were named as parties in the suit.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Ramswaroop Bishnoi, referenced Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive, a 1911 book by retired judge Harvilas Sharda. According to the book, debris from a Hindu temple were used in the construction of the dargah, and a sanctum or basement allegedly containing a Shiva Lingam once worshiped by a Brahmin family is located within the shrine. The book also claimed remnants of a Jain temple were integrated into the dargah’s structure, including elements visible in its 75-feet-tall buland darwaza.
Earlier this month, a survey team conducting an inspection of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district under heavy police security, encountered stone-pelting by some people.
The survey was initiated as part of a legal procedure stemming from a petition filed by senior advocate Vishnu Shanker Jain, who alleged that the mosque was originally a temple.