Mayawati Alleges 'Casteist' Centre, AAP Govt Colluded to Demolish Ravidas Temple in Delhi

Alleging that the ruling BJP at the Centre and the AAP government in Delhi colluded to get the Ravidas temple in Delhi’s Tughlaqabad area demolished, BSP supremo Mayawati on Wednesday said that it showed the casteist mentality of the two parties.

The former UP chief minister said in a couple of tweets that the BSP has strongly opposed the razing of the temple and demands that the two governments now come to an understanding and rebuild the temple by sharing the expense.

The centuries-old temple Guru Ravidas temple was demolished on August 9 by the Delhi Development Authority as part of a drive to carry out Supreme Court orders. The demolition has led to a massive controversy and protests by Dalit groups, particularly in Punjab, where demonstrators called for a bandh, blocked roads and took out marches.

The All India Adi-Dharm Mission Khuralgarh Sahib and Sadhu Smaj Samperdaye, the Dalit groups who called for the bandh, said they were not consulted before the temple was razed. They argued that while the Ramjanmabhoomi issue was being handled with utmost care, this wasn’t the case with the Ravidas temple issue.

While Delhi Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Monday alleged that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished the temple in the presence of a police force last Saturday and the statue was "taken away", the DDA did not use the word temple and said the "structure was removed as per the orders of the Supreme Court".

The Supreme Court, firm on its stand, on Tuesday said its orders are not influenced by politics around such demonstrations. "What is this going on? What are they protesting against...our decision? We are not influenced by all this," said Justice Arun Mishra, heading the bench.

He said it was in bad taste that the orders of the highest court of the land were treated with disdain and people would rather take to the streets to protest. "We are not concerned about politics, political considerations. We pass our orders based on facts and law. Let everyone know this is not a place for politics," he said.