Jama Masjid in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI photo
Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta has written to the Director General of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to survey the iconic Jama Masjid in Delhi. He alleged that the mosque has Hindu deities' idols buried within it.
According to a report in the Times of India, Gupta claimed that the mosque was built using the remains of the temples demolished in Jodhpur and Udaipur. Specifically, the stairs were built with these remains, which included the idols of deities, he stated, claiming that the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had done so to humiliate Hindus.
Gupta stated that as the responsible authority, ASI should conduct a thorough examination of the mosque structure. The letter alleged that numerous temple remains and idols are buried beneath the mosque's stairs. Gupta claimed that this situation affected his religious sentiments and impeded his right to worship the deities believed to be buried there.
Since the ASI is the authority responsible for such cases, Gupta stated that they must conduct a thorough survey of the mosque's structure, adding that the situation has deeply affected his religious sentiments and has impeded his right to worship deities buried there.
"Your office is requested to survey Jama Masjid, Delhi so that the idols of our deities can be preserved and concrete steps can be taken to install them in the temple and the truth about Aurangzeb can be revealed to the world," TOI quoted from the letter.
This letter came amidst the Sambhal situation surrounding the Shahi Jama Masjid, which had deteriorated into violence and has been an issue that the opposition has been keen to raise in the ongoing parliament session.
Gupta has previously filed a petition in a local court in Ajmer, stating that its highly-revered Dargah Sharif was actually a Shiva temple. It is currently a matter under the court's consideration.
Jama Masjid's officials refused to comment on this issue, TOI reported, adding that ASI's spokesperson Nandini Bhattacharya Sahu said the organisation did not know of the specific correspondence.