'Hand over the Gyanvapi structure to Hindus': VHP says citing ASI report
PTI. The VHP also sought the structure be declared 'a Hindu temple and handed over to the community. It demanded Hindus be permitted to offer 'sewa puja' to the 'Shivlinga' found in the 'so-called Wazukhana area' at the disputed site. "The evidence collected and the conclusions provided by the ASI do prove that the religious character of this place of worship existed on the 15th day of August, 1947, and as at present is of a Hindu Temple," VHP working president Alok Kumar said in a statement.
"Thus, even as per Section 4 of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, the structure should be declared as a Hindu temple," he also demanded. ALSO READ: What ASI report on Gyanvapi mosque survey revealed: 'Broken Shivalinga, figures of Hanuman' The VHP called upon the Intezamia Committee – manages the mosque – to agree to "respectfully shift" the Gyanvapi mosque to another appropriate place and to hand over the original site of Kashi Vishvanatha to the Hindu society. "The VHP believes that this righteous action shall be an important step towards creating amicable relations between the two prominent communities of Bharat," Kumar said.
The hindu body's demands arrived two days after the ASI survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque complex was made public. The lawyer representing the Hindu litigants had claimed the mosque was built after demolishing a pre-existing temple. "Hand over the Gyanvapi structure to Hindus," Kumar said, adding, the evidence collected by ASI "reconfirms that the mosque had been constructed after demolishing a magnificent temple".
Read more on livemint.com
