Congress demands reconstruction of Guru Ravidas temple

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday said that demolition of temple of Guru Ravidas in the capital had hurt sentiments of people and demanded that the central government should get it reconstructed.

In a statement, party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said the temple was located on the road which was also named after the saint born in the 15th century.

He said people believe that when the saint was going towards Punjab from Varanasi, he had rested at the place in 1509 and a temple was built.
He referred to court ruling pertaining to the temple and accused the BJP government of not making efforts to save the temple.

“Demolition of the temple is a crime. If the government wanted it could have found a way or a review petition could have been filed in the court. The temple should be built again and necessary orders taken from court,” he said.

Surjewala said a reply given by the government in parliament states that of 89 secretaries in the government, “one only belongs to the Dalit community and there is no one from the backward community”.

“This is objectionable,” he said and accused the government of not posing trust in people from these communities.