Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has appealed to Muslim leaders to "show largeheartedness and hand over the disputed sites in Varanasi, Mathura, and Sambhal to the Hindu community."
At the 'Pranaam India' special show at the Mahakumbh Mela site in Prayagraj, Yogi Adityanath was asked by India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma why he did not accept the offer of Muslim leaders who wanted to give their Waqf land for holding the Mahakumbh.
Asked why the ASI survey of the mosque in Sambhal was done in a hurry, Yogi replied, "Shubh kaarya mein deri nahin honi chahiye (There should be no delay while doing an auspicious work). During excavations, old wells and forts have been found. Apart from Hindu puranas (scriptures), even the Ain-i-Akbari written by Mughal emperor Akbar's court chronicler Abul Fazal mentions there was a Hari Mandal temple in Sambhal, which was a Vishnu temple."
Yogi said, "This temple was demolished by invader Babar's commander. Muslim leaders may not accept our Puranas, but they should accept Ain-i-Akbari. Even Muslims whose forefathers in Sambhal were converted to Islam during that period have kept records of their gotras, and they want that the temple should be rebuilt. The problem is with those leaders who consider Muslims as their vote banks. They are worried."
The UP CM said, "It is said in our scriptures, Yato Dharmah Tatoh Jayah (Dharma shall prevail). It will be better if democratic values prevail, and the Sanatan Dharma people will get justice through the constitutional system."