In yet another round of confrontation between the AAP-led dispensation and the Raj Niwas, chief minister Atishi on Tuesday raised concerns over the order for the demolition of multiple religious structures including temples and Buddhist places of worship in the city, and urged Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena to reconsider the orders.

Meanwhile, the Lieutenant Governor’s office refuted the allegations saying neither are any temples, mosques, churches or any other place of worship being broken/demolished, nor has any file to this effect come.  In a statement, the Lieutenant Governor’s office said the chief minister is playing cheap politics to divert attention from her’s and her predecessor Chief Minister’s failures. The latest exchange of letters comes amid growing political tensions between Atishi and the Lieutenant Governor.  Earlier, in a separate letter, Atishi had criticised the LG’s office for acting as a proxy for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi.

In a letter addressed to Saxena, Atishi said that the Religious Committee had decided to demolish several temples and Buddhist structures across Delhi, including those held dear by the Dalit community and  demolition of these structures would hurt the religious sentiments of communities. Atishi wrote, “It has been decided by the Religious Committee - on your directions, and with your approval - to demolish multiple religious structures across Delhi.

Atishi, in her letter, said, “It has been brought to my attention that the Religious Committee has ordered the demolition of numerous religious structures all across Delhi, in a meeting on 22nd November. Until last year, all decisions of the Religious Committee would be sent to you, via the CM and the Minister (Home), Delhi. As elected representatives who are constantly in touch with the people of Delhi, we would ensure that no religious sentiments were hurt.”

However, in an order issued last year your office stated that demolition of religious structures is a matter related to ‘public order’, and does not fall under the purview of the elected government and will be directly under the purview of the Hon’ble LG. Since then the work of the Religious Committee has been directly monitored by you. All files of the Religious Committee are routed from the Home Department to the LG, completely bypassing the CM and Minister (Home), the letter said.

She further said, “It has been decided by the Religious Committee on your directions, and with your approval to demolish multiple religious structures across Delhi. As you can see the list of religious structures to be demolished includes many temples, and Buddhist places of worship that are revered by the Dalit community. These included temple situated near Nallah Market at West Patel Nagar, temple at Dilshad Garden, satue at Sunder Nagri, temple at Seema Puri, temple at Gokal Puri and temple in side of New Usmanpur MCD flats near.

The Chief Minister has concluded saying, “Demolition of these structures would hurt the religious sentiments of these communities. I would like to request you to not to demolish any of these temples and places of worship in the list enclosed.”

“If at all, LG has issued strict instructions to the Police to maintain extra vigil against forces who may indulge in deliberate vandalism for political benefits. His instructions are being strictly followed, as was witnessed during the just gone Chritmas celebrations which did not see any ontoward incident,” read the statement issued by the Lieutenant Governor’s office .

Senior AAP leader and Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also accused the BJP saying the saffron party  seeks votes in the name of Lord Ram, now become the enemy of Lord Ram himself. He recalled that last year, when the Greater Kailash Ramleela Committee tried to organize Ramleela, the DDA under the BJP-led Central Government made every effort to stop it. The police even halted the construction of the stage. Despite sending multiple letters to the Vice-Chairman of the DDA, Bharadwaj stated that he had to struggle immensely to ensure the Ramleela was organized.