Members of Hindu outfits on Monday sprinkled ‘Gangajal’ on a temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharth Nagar district to “purify” it after the visit of a Muslim MLA. Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator Saiyada Khatoon was invited by the administration of the Samya Mata temple in Balwa village of Siddharth Nagar district to attend an event on Sunday, reported new agency PTI. Police said that on Monday, after the Ram Katha, the Chairman of the local panchayat and members of some other Hindu organisations visited the temple, sprinkled Gangajal, recited the Hanuman Chalisa, and shouted slogans against the Domariaganj MLA, the agency added in its report.
“Samya Mata Mandir is a centre of faith for devotees. People throng the temple with a dedication that was disrespected by the local MLA. She is non-vegetarian and her visit affected the sanctity of the place,” Dharmaraj Verma, Chairman, Barhni Chafa Nagar Panchayat, was quoted as saying by the PTI. Members of differed Hindu organisations, including Santosh Paswan, Mithlesh Pandey, Vijai Madhesia and Pramod Gautam were accompanying Verma.
The chairman said he sprinkled Gangajal on the temple to “purify” it.
Reacting to the incident, SP MLA Khatoon said, “I respect all religions. Moreover, I am a public representative. Be it a temple or a mosque, I will surely go there if I am invited.” She added that the renovation of various temples was funded by her MLA local area development fund, reported PTI.
Domariaganj Circle Officer Sujit Kumar Rai said no complaint has been registered in connection with the incident yet, adding that a police team was patrolling the area to avert the possibility of any confrontation.
“We will take appropriate action if a complaint is filed in this regard,” Rai said.
He added that local villagers had constituted an organising committee for the Ram Katha and had invited the SP leader. Shrikant Shukla, secretary of the organising committee, and Pujari Prasad, head priest of the temple were heading the committee, as per PTI.
“We are inquiring into the incident and keeping a close eye on the development,” said the Superintendent of Police, Siddharth Nagar, Abhishek Kumar Agarwal, PTI reported.