‘First time since Aurangzeb…’: AAP’s Atishi accuses BJP of forcing taxes on temples

She alleged that East MCD has sent notices to several temples seeking house tax failing which they would be sealed

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi on Tuesday (December 7) launched a scathing attack on the BJP-ruled MCD, accusing them of forcing taxes on temples in Delhi. She said that it was for the first time since Mughal King Aurangzeb’s rule that taxes were being sought from the temples.

She alleged that East MCD has sent notices to several temples seeking house tax failing which they would be sealed.

“The East MCD has sent notices to several temples saying that you must pay house tax otherwise this temple will be sealed. In my opinion, this is the first time since the rule of Aurangzeb that somebody has dared to send such a notice to a temple. In 1679, Aurangzeb had imposed Jizya on temples. Today, in 2021, the East MCD has imposed property tax on temples. This is the real face of the Bharatiya Janata Party. They were extorting from whoever they could in the state but now they want to get a piece of the priest's dakshina as well? What kind of a government asks temples to pay property taxes?” said Atishi.