Former minister and ex-Leader Of Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir strongly condemned the demolition of places of worship in the Secretariat complex.
Ali said that the GHMC authorities had razed two mosques and a temple, along with other structures, that were located in the premises of the Secretariat during
the demolition drive being carried out since Monday midnight.
"This is a breach of trust and open cheating by the TRS government. When we raised this issue in the past, an assurance was given by some ministers that the two mosques and a temple would remain untouched even if the other structures were demolished. However, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao reportedly directed the authorities to raze all structures, including two mosques and a temple, to the ground," he alleged.
He said that he had written an open letter to the Chief Minister on June 27, 2019, requesting him to protect the mosques and temple. "We clearly told CM KCR several times that we were not against having a modern Secretariat, but that we were opposing the timing of its construction. Further, we wanted the state government to protect the mosques and temple at any cost. However, the Chief Minister did not listen to our appeals, and reportedly demolished the places of worship," he said.
Shabbir Ali ridiculed the statements being given by some TRS leaders claiming that the mosques were not demolished. He asked them to furnish evidence to substantiate their claims. "Why are the police and the GHMC authorities not allowing the media near the Secretariat premises? Why are they trying to prevent the media from reporting the truth? Why is minister K T Rama Rao, who also holds the portfolio of municipal administration, not asking the GHMC Commissioner to release video footage showing the present status of the mosques and temple?" he asked.
The Congress leader accused KCR of hurting the religious sentiments of all the communities by demolishing their places of worship, and said that the people of Telangana would never forgive him (KCR) or other TRS leaders for hurting their religious sentiments. He pointed out that the GHMC authorities had also demolished Ek Khana Masjid, a 200+-year-old mosque in Amberpet which was also a registered Wakf property, in the name of road expansion. Several other places of worship had been demolished under the TRS regime during the last six years, he claimed.
"Except for KCR's superstitious beliefs, no religion or places of worship are being given importance under the TRS rule," he said.
He also said that the TRS government had also violated the provisions of The Places Of Worship Act.
"KCR has no respect for the law or the Constitution, and he openly violated the union's laws on multiple occasions. Showing the same characteristics, he carried out the demolition of the Secretariat in haste only to avoid another stay by the Supreme Court," he said.
The Congress leader alleged that KCR was trying to set a new precedent of demolishing religious structures in the name of expansion or renovation.
"If the TRS government is allowed to demolish the places of worship to facilitate the construction of a new Secretariat, then it will become a trend for all governments in the future to demolish any temple, mosque, church or other religious structure without any hindrance," he lamented.