NEW DELHI: Former Delhi BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel on Monday said that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) should provide an alternative site in the Tughlaqabad area for the Ravidas Temple, which was demolished in compliance with a Supreme Court order.
The BJP leader said that he would contribute a month’s salary for the reconstruction of the temple and appealed to all ‘right thinking’ individuals to support the ‘noble cause’.
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He said that he had spoken to Tarun Kapoor, Vice-Chairman of the DDA and asked him to provide land for the reconstruction of the temple.
“The DDA has agreed to grant land at an alternative site. The temple should not have been demolished in the first place because there might also be other religious structures as well in the protected forest area.
Instead of politicising the issue, everyone should work towards reconstruction of the temple at an alternative site.
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There are crores of followers of Sant Ravidas and the issue has to be resolved with a lot of sensitivity. The religious sentiments of his followers should be respected,” Goel said.
He alleged that the Delhi government and Congress, which now stands in solidarity with the Sant’s followers, had not responded when the issue first cropped up.
“The delegates of Ravidas community had approached the chief minister a month ago on the issue. Yet, the Kejriwal government failed to take any steps.
Even Congress is now showing solidarity with the community. It is an attempt to politicise the issue,” he said.