Yogi's deputy rakes up Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi issue ahead of UP polls

BJP leaders, including cm Yogi Adityanath, had also dropped hints that 'Hindutva' was one of their party's major planks in the forthcoming assembly polls

"Construction is going on in Ayodhya and Varanasi, now preparing for Mathura," Maurya posted on Twitter.

The statement comes barely days before the 29th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition at Ayodhya.

It also came amid calls by a saffron outfit to march to the Shahi Idgah Mosque, adjoining the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi Complex, and install a statue of Lord Krishna and perform 'jalabhishek' (offering of water). The outfit later called off the march after the district administration deployed additional security around the mosque.

Hindu outfits claim that a portion of the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi temple had been demolished during the Mughal period and claim ownership over the entire complex. A Mathura court had earlier admitted a petition claiming ownership of the entire land on which the Srikrishna Janmabhoomi was situated and seeking removal of the adjoining Shahi Idgah Mosque.

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Although the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which had spearheaded the Ram Temple movement, had made it clear that Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi was not on its agenda, the All India Akhara Parishad (AIAP), an apex body of seers in the country, had extended its support to the petition. The AIAP had also called for the removal of the Gyanvapi Mosque, which was adjacent to the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. A court in Varanasi is hearing a petition in this regard.

BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, had also dropped hints that 'Hindutva' was one of their party's major planks in the forthcoming assembly polls. In his public meetings, Adityanath had sought to paint his rivals as pro-Muslim parties, who during their regime, spent money on renovating graveyards and thwarted attempts to build Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

Union home minister Amit Shah had also, in his public meetings, compared the rule of his rivals to the Mughal period as the people of the state did not know that UP was the land of Rama, Krishna and Shiva.

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