Bihar: BJP Demands Apology After Minister Md Israil Mansuri Enters Vishnupad Temple With Nitish Kumar

Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal asked the Bihar CM to apologise for deliberately "mocking Hindus".

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar offers prayers at the Vishnupad temple in Gaya (Source: Twitter)

New Delhi: The entry of Minister Israil Mansuri into the famous Vishnupad temple in Gaya, Bihar has sparked controversy on Tuesday as Non-Hindus are prohibited from entering the temple and the rule has been in place for the last 100 years. The incident took place when Nitish Kumar entered the temple premises accompanied by Bihar IT minister Mohammad Israil Mansuri, a non-Hindu.

Meanwhile, Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal asked the Bihar CM to apologise for deliberately "mocking Hindus".

"We demand a public apology from the chief minister. Can he think of setting his foot inside Mecca? Why must Hindus always adjust their religious sensibilities in the name of tolerance?" he asked as quoted by news agency PTI.

"If the chief minister refuses to apologize, he should brace for protests from BJP workers everywhere, including the state assembly," said Jaiswal whose party is sore over loss of power in the state.

Information Technology Minister in the Bihar government, Israil, while interacting with the media said that he was fortunate that he got a chance to visit Vishnupad temple. "I feel blessed to have got the opportunity for a darshan of the temple with the honourable chief minister".

State cabinet minister Ashok Choudhary, who is also a senior leader of Kumar's JD(U), said "It is the BJP's mindset that Hindus and Muslims must not go to each other's places of worship. We visit temples and mazaars with the same spirit".

The temple authority has claimed that notice with regards to the prohibition of non-Hindu people entering inside the temple, put on the gate to inform them, still, Mansoori entered inside the "Garbha Griha" of the temple. The temple has constituted a committee to investigate the incident.

(With PTI Inputs)