Centre To Demolish Temple In Delhi, Claims AAP Amid Bulldozer Row

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday claimed that the central government has begun a move to demolish a temple in Delhi's Sriniwaspuri.

Condemning the move, party leaders led by Kalkaji MLA Atishi held a protest near the Neelkanth Mahadev Mandir and vowed not to let the BJP government demolish it.

"The BJP has so far been using bulldozers to threaten and extort the common man, but now its gunda raj has reached to such an extent where they are not even sparing Bhagwan Shri Ram," Atishi charged.

"This protest, this procession is not merely an Aam Aadmi Party initiative, but an agitation which is led by the people here, by the women of Sriniwaspuri, and the entire population of Delhi against BJP's injustice and they have resolved to not let anyone attack their abode of faith at any cost,” she added.

Atishi also shared on Twitter an eviction notice recently issued by the Union Urban Affairs Ministry's Land and Development Office to the “unauthorised” occupants of the temple, and said the BJP government would not just demolish the temple in Sriniwaspuri using bulldozers but also the faith of the crores of people.

Another AAP MLA Madan Lal said people of the Sriniwaspuri area are baffled at the "sheer disrespect" shown by the Union government for the temple as the "demolition notice" has came.

"This protest will continue until we are sure that this sacred temple faces no threat from the BJP. This Neelkanth Mandir is a symbol of faith for thousands of people, and was not established yesterday," he said.

Later in a statement, the AAP said the BJP's real face got exposed after its government at the Centre issued notice for the demolition of the temple.

"As soon as the news came to the fore, the Aam Aadmi Party reached to the spot to protect the temple from the demolition and staged a protest," the party added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)