Asaduddin Owaisi condemns Alwar temple demolition; seeks apology from BJP & RSS

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi issued his first response to the Alwar temple demolition, blaming the BJP-ruled municipality for the incident. Taking to Twitter, Owaisi condemned the incident and said that AIMIM believed in freedom for all religions. He further demanded that BJP and RSS apologize for their 'attack' on all places of worship.  

Owaisi's accusation comes even as Congress MLA Ramkesh Meena confirmed that the decision had been taken by the Ashok Gehlot-led government under a 'master plan' to clear illegal encroachment. Notably, the AIMIM chief had visited Northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri yesterday, which, in contrast to the Rajasthan demolition, is witnessing immense political outrage in the aftermath of an anti-encroachment demolition exercise.

Alwar temple demolition: Congress claims exercise done for 'welfare'

Under the pretext of 'development', the Rajasthan government on Friday got bulldozers to run on residences and three temples in Alwar's Rajgarh including a 300-year-old Shiv mandir. The sculptures were reportedly broken with the yellow claws of the bulldozer, while an ancient Shivling was cut using a drill, even as people pleaded with the administration to not destroy the temples.

Speaking to Republic TV after the drive, Congress MLA Ramkesh Meena stated that the demolition had been done for the 'welfare' of the locals in Rajgarh. He also argued that a 'prior notice' had been given to the locals of the region before the action was taken, a claim which locals have rubbished, asserting that they had not received any such notice prior to the act. 

He said, “ Demolition has been done only after issuing a prior notice, action has been taken under the 'master-plan' in Rajgarh of Alwar. There was agreement from people behind the demolition.”

In turn, the residents have levelled a massive allegation against the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government, saying that the demolition was carried out in 'vendetta', given that the area had elected BJP councillors. "Johari Lal Meena is doing this because we elected BJP councillors in the Rajgarh area of Alwar, Rajasthan. Our children are scared and we haven't been able to cook food for 4 days now." BJP's Rajasthan President Satish Poonia has also asserted that the action happened on the clear instructions of Meena. 

Notably, a video of Congress MLA from Alwar Johari Lal Meena has added fuel to this allegation. In the purported video, Meena allegedly says that bulldozers wouldn't work if there had been a 'Congress Board' in the region.