Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena hit back at Chief Minister Atishi over "cheap politics" after she alleged that his office ordered demolition of Hindu and Buddhist temples.
The Lt Governor's Secretariat issued a statement claiming no temples, mosques or churches were ordered to be demolished.
#WATCH | On Delhi CM Atishi writing a letter to Delhi LG VK Saxena on the order to demolish religious structures, Congress leader Abhishek Dutt says, "... I want to know who told Atishi ji that she is spreading rumours in Delhi. If someone has said this, then she should come… pic.twitter.com/L0lZZuUHxY
— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2025
Atishi, in her letter to the LG, said a November 22 meeting of the religious committee chaired by him passed an order to demolish religious structures in Delhi.
Listing the religious structures, Atishi said these were located in West Patel Nagar, Dilshad Garden, Sunder Nagri, Seema Puri, Gokal Puri and Usmanpur. The CM requested Saxena to revoke the order to demolish these structures as it could hurt the sentiments of the affected communities.
Atishi pointed out that all decisions of the religious panel were earlier sent to the governor's office via the chief minister and the home minister but claimed the latest order was issued by bypassing the CM and the home ministry.
Slamming the CM, Saxena's office said the Lt Governor has asked the police to be extra vigilant against those who engage in deliberate vandalism for political benefits.
"His instructions are being strictly followed, as was witnessed during the just gone Christmas celebrations which did not see any untoward incident," the office said.
Reacting to Atishi's claims, Delhi Congress leader Abhishek Dutt asked CM to name the person who told her about the rumoured demolition. "If someone has said this, then she should come forward with his name and hold a press conference to find out who is spreading these rumors in Delhi," Dutt said.
Asking Atishi to spread love and not hatred on New Year day, Dutt said Delhi's agenda is pollution, underdevelopment and cleaning of Yamuna. "...She has not done these works... She does not want to talk about the main issue, so she is talking like this," he claimed.
