The district court of Varanasi’s decision to allow Hindus to pray in the Vyas cellar of the Gyanvapi structure has ruffled the feathers of Mamata Banerjee’s minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury. Chowdhury has gone on to threaten Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying that if he comes to Bengal, they will surround him and not allow him to go back.
The TMC leader even sought a ban on Hindus being allowed to do puja in the Gyanvapi structure and demanded that the Hindu worshippers “vacate the Gyanvapi mosque immediately”.
“With the court’s assistance, they have forcibly begun performing puja beneath the mosque. Is Yogi Adityanath educated or not? When the CM of Uttar Pradesh visits Bengal, we shall surround him with full force. He won’t be permitted to leave Bengal if he sits anywhere. We aim to get Gyanvapi vacated. We don’t visit any temples; you are free to pray there as much as you like, but just because you are in charge of the state doesn’t mean you can destroy masjids and begin worshipping there instead,” the TMC threatened.
He added, “The Hindu worshippers have forcefully started offering prayers at Gyanvapi mosque. I would tell them to vacate the premises immediately,” Siddiqullah Chowdhury said while attending a Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind rally in Kolkata, West Bengal.
“That (Gyanvapi) mosque has been there for more than 800 years. How will they demolish it?” he queried.
Varanasi court allows puja in Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana at Gyanvapi complex
TMC’s influential Muslim leader Siddiqullah Chowdhury’s divisive remarks came as the district court of Varanasi ruled on Wednesday (31st January) that the Hindus have the right to worship in the Vyas cellar of the Gyanvapi structure. The court has ordered the district administration to make arrangements for worship in the basement within 7 days. This cellar is below the so-called mosque inside the structure. Now regular worship rituals will take place here as per the court’s order. The puja will be performed by the Kashi Vishwanath Trust Board.
The Vyas Ji Ka Tehkhana is one of the four basement chambers at the Gyanvapi complex, which is managed by the Vyas family. As per the family, they have a long history of association with the temple since 1551. However, the worship was stopped in December 1993 on the orders of the state govt.
The court order states that there is enough evidence showing that Vyas family has been worshipping there since the British period and they have been doing it up to December 1993. The court notes that materials related to Hindu rituals, several ancient Hindu idols and other materials of religious significance have been found in the basement. It is needed to worship the idols on a regular basis, the court said.
Importantly, the court order states that the state govt had stopped the worship under the basement without any authority to do so. Therefore, the court ordered the administration to make arrangements for worship in the basement.
Mamata Banerjee’s minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury’s anti-Hindu rants
Mamata Banerjee’s close aide Siddiqullah Chowdhury is not new to controversies. In 2021 he sparked a new controversy by mocking Hindu sentiments and making veiled threats over the issue of cow slaughter in West Bengal. He said that no one can stop cow slaughter in West Bengal.
Ahead of the upcoming State Legislative elections, he said, “Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath had come here and said that if BJP comes to power, then it will end cow slaughter in the State.” He alleged, “Cow slaughter has been happening in Bengal for the past 1000-1200 years. Everyone eats beef, including Muslims and others. What has beef got to do with votes? The attempt is to further the Hindu mentality.”
Furthermore, he claimed that the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been tarnished after the Ram Mandir verdict.
Siddiqullah is the same person who had stated in September 2018 that the Quran will prevail over the Constitution and had also expressed his displeasure towards the ordinance banning instant Triple Talaq.
Mamata Banerjee’s close aide Siddiqullah is also the President of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (West Bengal). After Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) embarrassing defeat in the Sagardighi assembly bypoll, Mamata had constituted a 4 member committee of four Muslim legislators and ministers to look into the reasons for the defeat. The committee was headed by none other than Siddiqullah Chowdhury who had then said that Banerjee had sought a detailed report on why Muslim voters turned away from the TMC although she is running so many welfare schemes for them.
