As Muslim leaders led by AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi threatened to launch a massive protest over the demolition of two mosques in the old Secretariat complex, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Friday announced that the government will construct these in the new Secretariat premises at government expense, even if it means spending crores of rupees.
Expressing regret over the demolition of two mosques and a temple in the old Secretariat complex, the Telangana CM said that “it shouldn’t have happened”. He has promised that the government would construct a temple and mosque in the new Secretariat premises in a more spacious way.
We’ll construct a temple and mosque in Secretariat premises in a more spacious way even it means spending of crores of rupees. We will construct these at the government cost and hand them over the people concerned. This is my promise: Telangana CMO quotes CM KC Rao https://t.co/9jgLNPTHFr
— ANI (@ANI) July 10, 2020
Condemning the demolition of two mosques in the premises of old secretariat in Hyderabad, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, religious scholars and leaders of various Muslims organisations had threatened to protest.
Telangana Muslim leaders demand mosque to be reconstructed in the same place
Demanding that the mosques be re-constructed at the same place immediately, Owaisi and other Muslim leaders warned that if the government failed to take steps for reconstruction of the demolished mosques at the same place without any delay, Muslims would be forced to launch a strong protest.
The Muslim leaders issued a joint statement which said that since according to the Islamic belief a mosque remains ‘the property of Almighty Allah’ and its status can never be altered, this move has enraged the Muslims. It furthered that the demolition of two mosques had shocked the confidence of the Muslim community in Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who has been projecting himself as a secular.
The joint statement was issued by AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi, Moulana Akbar Nizamuddin and Moulana Mufti Khaleel Ahmed of Jamia Nizamia, president of MUF Moulana Rahmeeuddin Ansari, Jamaate-Islami’s Telangana unit chief Moulana Hamid Mohammed Khan, Jamiatul Ulema Telangana and Andhra Pradesh unit president Moulana Hafiz Peer Shabbir Ahmed, eminent religious scholars Moulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, Moulana Jaffer Pasha and others.
Waqf board warns that demolition can lead to law and order problems
The Waqf Board has sent a letter to the secretary, minorities welfare, raising concerns over the demolition of the mosques. Waqf Board Chief Executive Officer Abdul Hameed, along with the letter, also sent gazette notifications of the mosques. He wrote that demolition could anger Muslims leading to law and order problems.
Now, the state High Court directed the KCR government to stay the ongoing demolition of old Secretariat buildings until July 13, Monday. It has asked the state government to file a detailed counter affidavit and to furnish demolition plan and approval taken from the pollution control board.
