Yogi Adityanath’s comments on the Gyanvapi mosque come before a critical decision by the Allahabad High Court.
In response to the controversy around the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urged that the Muslim community give a remedy to the “historical mistake.” Yogi Adityanath, who is also the chief priest of Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur, claimed in a podcast with ANI Editor Smita Prakash that the walls of Gyanvapi are “screaming” and that naming it a mosque will generate “dispute.”
“There will be a controversy if we call it a mosque.” I believe that anyone God has blessed with sight should see. What does a trishul (trident) have to do with a mosque? It was not placed there by us. “There is a jyotirlinga and dev pratimas (idols),” added the chief minister.
“The walls scream and say something.” “I believe that there should be a proposal from the Muslim society that there has been a historical error and that we need a solution,” he continued.
Adityanath’s remarks about the Gyanvapi mosque came before of the Allahabad High Court’s decision on a petition challenging a lower court judgment asking the Archaeological Survey of India to undertake a survey to ascertain if the mosque was built on top of a temple.
The top court further ruled that the suspension of the ASI survey be extended until August 3. The court was considering the case of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, the mosque’s management organization.
While the dispute dates back decades, the Varanasi court of District ordered ASI to conduct an in-depth investigation of the plot where the mosque stands, next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, via dating, excavation, and ground penetrating radar (GPR) techniques on July 21, while hearing a petition from four Hindu women. The judge did, however, omit a piece that has been sealed since a Supreme Court decision in May 2022, where the Hindu side claims a Shivling was discovered while the Muslims allege the structure is part of a fountain.
The survey was conducted by ASI for nearly four and a half hours on July 24 before it was halted by the Supreme Court the same day, allowing petitioners to proceed to the Allahabad High Court.
