The Indraprastha VHP has issued a statement regarding the demolition of the Hanuman Temple at Chandni Chowk in Delhi. In its statement, it has blamed the Aam Aadmi Government at the national capital for not protecting the Temple against demolition at the Delhi High Court.
In its statement, the VHP has said that their karyakartas have been defending the Temple in the cold winter of Delhi. But as soon as the VHP karyakartas left, the Temple was demolished. The VHP also said that they had petitioned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to stop the demolition of the Temple and take adequate steps in the Court.
The Indraprastha VHP said that even after months, neither were they given any time nor was any steps taken to ensure the safety of the Hanuman Temple. The manner of demolition in the wee hours of the night was also condemned. It was said that VHP karyakartas had battled the cold and rain to protect the Temple.
The Indraprastha VHP has also demanded strong action against the officials responsible for the demolition of the Hanuman Temple and urged Arvind Kejriwal to act regarding the same. The reconstruction of the temple was also demanded. The failure to do so would result in an agitation, the VHP warned.
Who is to blame for the Hanuman Temple Demolition?
There is significant blame game going on. It is pertinent to mention here that the November 2019 order by the Delhi High Court was passed in response to a plea filed by the Delhi Government seeking to change the Court’s earlier directions that the Lieutenant Governor should take measures to remove the religious structures hindering the plan.
The Court ordered the demolition after the architect said that the Temple will hamper the proposed work and that the demands made by the government committee was not implementable. Now the BJP is blaming the AAP for the demolition despite the fact that it was NDMC that demolished because it claims the Delhi Government could have intervened in the matter but did not.
The BJP also claims that the AAP saved two other structures but chose not to do so in the case of the Hanuman Temple. It is also apparent that when the NMCD said that they will demolish the Temple, they meant that they will implement the Court order. The civic body did move the Supreme Court where it was observed that the “responsibility to remove the encroachment is primarily of the municipal corporation. However, in such an endeavour, the government must extend a support to the corporation.”
It is not clear whether the NMCD made any effort to reverse the order mandating the demolition of the Temple or the measures it could have taken to ensure that the Temple was not demolished. It does not appear to have made any effort in overturning the Delhi High Court order. The Delhi Government, too, appears to have tried to reverse the Court order mandating the demolition but appears to have given up too soon.
Thus, while the Delhi High Court ordered the demolition of the Temple, it appears that BJP controlled NMCD and the AAP Government both failed to save the Temple.
