Deputy CM Maurya challenges Akhilesh Yadav to clarify his stand on Krishna temple in Mathura

Lucknow: Four days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mathura, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday alleged the SP does not want to build the Shri Krishna temple and challenged the party chief Akhilesh Yadav to clarify his stand.

"The SP, which is shedding the blood of Hindus for the sake of minority votes, wants the votes of the descendants of Lord Krishna, but doesn't want a temple on the birthplace of Shri Krishna,'' Maurya wrote on the social site 'X'.  

''If SP bahadur Shri Akhilesh Yadav is not under the pressure of Shri Azam Khan and his community on this matter, then please clarify your stand," he further said.

Even in 2021, Maurya had asked Yadav whether he wanted to build the Shri Krishna temple in Mathura or not.

Yadav had said in January 2022, before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, that Lord Shri Krishna came in his dream and said that a socialist (samajwadi) government is going to be formed.

Prime Minister Modi offered prayers at the temple in Mathura on Thursday. He was there to participate in the 'Meerabai Janmotsav' organised to celebrate the 525th birth anniversary of Mirabai, a devotee of Lord Krishna.

 Referring to the grand temple of Lord Shri Ram in Ayodhya and the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor, the prime minister said, "Mathura and Braj will also not be left behind in the race of development. The day is not far when the God will be seen with even more divinity in the Braj region."

" I am happy that Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad has been established for the development of Braj. This council is doing a lot of work for the convenience of the devotees and the development of the pilgrimage.'

The case of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah dispute is pending in various courts. In a case filed by Mahendra Pratap Singh and Rajendra Maheshwari in a local court of Mathura, it has been claimed that during his reign, Mughal ruler Aurangzeb demolished the ancient Keshavdev temple and built Idgah at its place, and the idols of 'Thakurji' installed in the temple were buried under the stairs of the Begum Mosque of Agra.