Senior BJP leader and Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa on Wednesday said that the Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan ceremony, which is being held in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, is the first step towards eradicating the culture of slavery and restoring the Hindu culture in the birthplace of Lord Rama.
Speaking at an event in Shivamogga, which was organised to celebrate the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, minister KS Eshwarappa said that the Mosques at Kashi and Mathura were constructed by demolishing temples and hence there is a need to build Hindu temples at both the places. He said that there are Mosque at both the sites, which means we are still slaves.
In both these places, when we offer prayers, there are mosques on sides, which say that you are still a slave. It is necessary to liberate these temples: K. S. Eshwarappa, Karnataka Minister https://t.co/7mPMPi24Za
— ANI (@ANI) August 5, 2020
“It’s a good day that the foundation stone for Ram Temple has been laid. A beautiful temple will come up, but there are Kashi Vishwanath & Krishna Janmasthan temples which have to be liberated,” said KS Eshwarappa, who is the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister of Karnataka.
The Minister added that Hindus feel enslaved when they visit temples at Kashi and Mathura and added that it is difficult to offer prayers with devotion at these temples as the Mosques present at the site remind Hindus of their subjugation. Hence, we need to liberate these temples, said the minister.
KS Eshwarappa also asserted that there will be temples at both Kashi and Mathura in the near future just like Ayodhya. He added all the three Hindu temples, once constructed, will be the symbol of nationalism in the country.
The senior leaders remarks comes on the day when Prime Minister Modi performed Bhoomi Pujan for the proposed Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.
Reclamation of Kashi and Mathura temples
Following the Supreme Court verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi case, there has been a growing demand among Hindus to reclaim Kashi and Mathura, along with Ayodhya. Taking back the disputed sites of Kashi Vishwanath temple and Krishna Janmabhoomi temple at Mathura has now become a priority for various Hindu groups in the country.
The Gyanvapi Mosque was built by the Islamic invader Aurangzeb after destroying the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The remnants of the ancient Hindu temple can still be seen on the walls of the Gyanvapi Mosque. The temple was an earlier restoration of the original Kashi Vishwanath temple, which was destroyed and rebuilt several times in history. The current Kashi Vishwanath was built on a site adjacent to the Mosque in 1780.
Similarly, the Shahi Idgah Mosque stands at the Krishna Janmabhoomi in the city of Mathura. The Islamic invader Aurangzeb had destroyed the ancient Keshavnath temple and built the Shahi Idgah Mosque on its plinth in 1669.
