Bhubaneswar: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has demanded the Gyanvapi mosque in Kashi of Uttar Pradesh to be handed over to Hindus on the basis of the report submitted by the ASI to the court.
In a press release on Saturday, international working president of VHP Alok Kumar said the evidence collected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from the Gyanvapi structure has confirmed that the mosque had been constructed after demolishing a magnificent temple.
“A part of the temple structure, particularly the western wall, is the remaining part of the temple. The report also proves that parts of the pre-existing temple including pillars and plasters were reused with modifications to extend the span of the mosque and construction of the Sahana,” he said.
“The Shivling in what was called the Wazukhana leaves no doubt that the structure does not have the character of a mosque. The discovery of the names including the Janardana, Rudra and Umeswara in the inscriptions found in the structure are the tell-tale evidence of this being a temple,” he added.
Kumar said the evidence, submitted by the ASI to the District Judge hearing the Gyanvapi matter, proved existence of a temple on August 15, 1947. Thus, as per Section 4 of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, the structure should be declared as a Hindu Temple.
He further said the Intezamia Committee should respectfully shift the Gyanvapi mosque to another place and hand over the site to the Hindus to offer Sewa Puja to the Shivling.
“The VHP believes that this righteous action will be an important step towards creating amicable relations between the two prominent communities of Bharat,” he added.
