The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) members on Saturday assembled before the Gauri Shankar Mandir and chanted Hanuman Chalisa to mark their protest against the demolition of Hanuman Mandir in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk area.
Anil Kumar, president, DPCC said that the Congress wanted to hold the protest dharna at the site of the demolished Hanuman Mandir, but the Delhi police put up barricades there to prevent them from doing so.
“The Congress workers moved to the Gauri Shankar Mandir, a few metres away from the demolished temple, to hold the protest, as they did not want to break the law,” he said.
Kumar said that a Congress delegation had also sought an appointment to meet the Delhi Lieutenant Governor on Monday, to take up the Hanuman Mandir demolition issue and would seek the reconstruction of the temple at the same place.
Hitting hard at AAP and BJP, Kumar said that the Hanuman Mandir was demolished in an overnight operation by the BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation, after getting the go-ahead from the AAP lead Delhi government.
“They both termed the temple as an “encroachment” on the pavement and was allegedly obstructing the redevelopment of Chandni Chowk,” he said. Kumar said that the Congress will sustain its protest till the temple is reconstructed, and the Mayor of the NDMC answers why the popular Hanuman Mandir was demolished in an overnight operation. He said that the tradition has been that if a temple has to be removed and shifted then measures should be taken to preserve it, or relocate it by observing proper religious rites.