Farmers Movement Archive

Krishna temple will be made in Mathura, not Lahore: UP minister Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan Singh

AGRA: Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan Singh said on Monday that a Krishna temple will be built in Mathura and not anywhere else. “Bhagwan Krishna ka mandir yadi Mathura me nahi banega… to Lahore or Rawalpindi me thode hi banega… (If Lord Krishna's temple is not constructed in Mathura, will it be made in Lahore or Rawalpindi)," he added. This statement came a day after BJP MP from Ballia Ravindra Kushwaha said, "When the (Narendra) Modi government can repeal the farm laws keeping in mind protests by farmers, it can also withdraw the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 to pave way for construction of a grand temple at Krishna Janambhoomi in Mathura." Singh spoke about the Krishna temple in Mathura even as the city has remained on alert for days now, especially after a right-wing group announced earlier that its members would install an idol of Krishna at the Shahi Idgah on December 6, the day Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished in 1992. On Monday, Mathura saw the deployment of additional forces with 3,000 more police personnel patrolling the streets. Section 144 is already in place in the pilgrimage centre. Just a week ago, deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had tweeted: "Foundations of a grand temple in Ayodhya and Kashi have begun, now preparations are being made for Mathura.” Singh, the minister in charge of development, animal husbandry and fisheries, went on to say, “The question now is when will it (the Krishna temple) be built? Earlier, the same question was raised in connection with the Ram temple in Ayodhya.” He added that UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, "himself a saint", will disclose the right time for construction of the Mathura temple. “Construction of the Krishna temple will be started the way the Ram mandir in Ayodhya was started. Ram lalla hum ayenge, mandir wahin banayenge… tarikh nahi batayenge (Lord Ram, we will come and make the mandir but won't let out the date)." Barring a minor incident at Krishna Janmasthan temple in Mathura, where a few people gathered and shouted slogans, the day passed off peacefully. Police took into custody five of the protesters. SP (city) MP Singh said all of them were arrested on charges of disturbing peace under section 151 of CrPC. Also, a man identified from his Facebook account as Deepak Yadav has been booked for spreading rumours, the police officer added. “Two drones and several CCTV cameras were in place to monitor activities near the temple and the mosque. Apart from that, there was heavy deployment of security personnel to avoid any untoward incident in the city,” said SSP Guarav Grover.

The Times of India

2021-12-07

Agra