Alwar temple razed to divert attention from FIR against Congress MLA’s son, says BJP

The BJP and Congress continued to trade charges over the temple demolition in Alwar, with the saffron party's Chandrakanta Meghwal accusing the local Congress MLA of ordering the demolition to divert attention from his son's FIR.

The blame game continued over the demolition of two temples during an anti-encroachment drive in Rajasthan’s Alwar on Saturday. The BJP has now accused the local Congress MLA of demolishing the temples as a diversionary tactic.

“The Congress MLA from the area wanted attention to be diverted from the FIR filed against his son [in a different matter]. That is why, the structures were demolished,” BJP legislator Chandrakanta Meghwal said at a press conference.

Referring to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot as “Aurangzeb”, BJP MP Sumedhanand said the authorities acted at the behest of the Congress government and did not have the requisite permissions to carry out the demolition drive.

“Ashok Gehlot has acted like Aurangzeb. Shops, temples, houses have been demolished. The demolition of temples was not approved by the municipal board,” Sumedhanand said, demanding action against those who razed the temples.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Mahant Prakash Das has lodged a police complaint against the SDM of Alwar and the Executive Officer of Rajgarh Municipality, accusing them of destroying the idols in the temples and hurting religious sentiments by walking around in their shoes inside the sanctum sanctorum.

Two temples and some shops were demolished early this week on Sunday and Monday in Rajgarh town in Alwar district. Rajgarh is a BJP-run municipality in Congress-ruled Rajasthan.

While Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia accused the Congress of being behind the demolition, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra asserted that it was the decision of the city’s municipality headed by the saffron party.