Delhi: BJP, VHP Stage Protest After Temple Is Demolished As Part Of Anti-Encroachment Drive

Police said adequate security measures were taken for the demolition drive in the Shankar Road area of Rajender Nagar in central Delhi.

Forty per cent of the temple structure was demolished on Thursday morning.

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New Delhi: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished a temple in the Rajender Nagar area in Central Delhi on Thursday as part of its anti-encroachment drive, triggering a protest by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), news agency PTI reported.

The demolition drive was carried out Thursday morning. Forty per cent of the temple structure was demolished and the process was conducted peacefully, police said.

“For demolition of religious structures, the nod of the religious committee (formed by the government) is required. We sought the committee's approval and following its go-ahead, the demolition was carried out,” PTI quoted a DDA official as saying.

Police further said adequate security measures were taken for the demolition drive in the Shankar Road area of Rajender Nagar in central Delhi.

Meanwhile, several BJP and VHP leaders and workers staged a sit-in protest at the temple against the demolition drive.

Former Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government was targeting temples in the national capital.

"We are protesting the action by DDA and I appeal to people to gather here and oppose the effort to demolish the temple," Gupta said.

According to the report, the BJP and VHP members demanded the restoration of the temple and said that until the temple is restored to its actual form, their protests will continue. The members protesting included Adesh Gupta, Rajan Tiwari and VHP head Surendra Gupta with other women activists.

Earlier last month, demolition drive was carried out at a temple and a mosque in Delhi’s ITO after Delhi High Court observed the shrines were abutting the pedestrian pathway.

The High Court issued the directions during the hearing of a petition moved by caretakers of Sanatan Dharam Mandir or Prachin Shiv Mandir, challenging a letter by the PWD stating they were encroaching on the land.