All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said on Saturday that the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was systematically snatched from the Muslims.
“Had the Babri Masjid not been brought down in 1992, things would not have been the way they are today,” Owaisi told reporters here two days before the consecration of Lord Ram idol at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
“Muslims used to offer namaz at Babri Masjid for over 500 years. The then Uttar Pradesh CM G B Pant ensured the idols were placed inside the masjid. K K Nair, who was the collector of Faizabad, shut the masjid and allowed idol worship there. Nair subsequently joined the Jan Sangh and became its first MP,” Owaisi explained.
“In 1986, locks were opened without consulting the Muslims. On December 6, 1992, thousands of karsevaks brought down the masjid at the behest of BJP and Sangh Parivar. In fact, there was no Ram Mandir when the Vishwa Hindu Parishad came into existence. Even Mahatma Gandhi has not mentioned anywhere about Ram Mandir,” said the four-time MP from Hyderabad.
“If G B Pant had not placed idols in masjid, if the lock of masjid was not opened in 1986 and if it was not demolished, we would not have to see things the way they are today,” Owaisi said.
He added, “Sangh Parivar people keep claiming that there was no masjid in Ayodhya. But, there was a masjid in Ayodhya and it will continue to exist.”
Taking a dig at the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi party, Owaisi said, “Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is part of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance, has asked schools to recite Sunderkhand Paath and Hanuman Chaalisa on every Tuesdays. Is it right to propagate and promote any faith in schools?,” he questioned.