“We should not call any controversial structure a mosque,” says UP CM Adityanath

“Any controversial structure should not be called a mosque,” said the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath said on Friday.

“Once we stop calling it a mosque, people will stop going there,” he said at an event organized by news channel Aaj Tak in Prayagraj. “Harming any faith by building a mosque-like structure is not in line with Islamic principles. Worship in such places is also unacceptable to God.”

Islam does not mandate the construction of a structure for worship, the prime minister said. “But Sanatan Dharma does,” he added.

Sanatana Dharma is a term that some people use as a synonym for Hinduism.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s statement comes amid mounting lawsuits from Hindu parties claiming ownership of mosques and dargahs.

On December 12, the Supreme Court blocked court proceedings from issuing orders, including surveying orders, in pending legal proceedings regarding the religious character of places of worship.

It also said that new cases cannot be filed in any court across the country until further orders are issued, while a series of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Special Provisions for Places of Worship Act of 1991 are being heard.

The law does not permit changes to the religious character of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.

On Friday, Adityanath said that while “Sanatanis go to temples for worship”, this is not the case with Islamic practices. “It is unnecessary to insist on it to the designation of a (controversial) building as a mosque,” he said.

The Prime Minister said it is time to embrace the vision of a new India and push forward progressive thinking. “We must focus on building unity and harmony rather than holding on to past disputes,” he added.

Responding to a question on claims that the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj is being held on the Waqf Board premises, the BJP leader claimed that the event has been taking place on the premises for thousands of years.

The Mahakumbh Mela is a Hindu festival and pilgrimage that takes place every 12 years on four river banks in India in Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain. This year it starts on January 13th and ends on February 26th.

A waqf is property donated by Muslims for a religious, educational or charitable purpose. In India, Waqfs are governed by the Waqf Law. Each state has a Waqf Board, headed by a legal entity with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property.

“If someone now calls this land as the property of the Waqf Board, we have to ask ourselves whether it belongs to the Waqf Board or the land mafia,” the chief minister claimed.

Such “malicious tendencies” need to be curbed, he added.

His statements came days after a Muslim cleric claims that the Mahakumbh Mela was held at Prayagraj on Waqf land, India today reported.

The BJP leader said he would put an end to such allegations. Those who came to the event with the intention of “claiming the land” would be faced with “bump painting”.or punitive measure, he added.