New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday defended restoration of Hindu places of worship saying they are being done in all fairness and backed by proof, and not an attempt to emotionalise anything.
The construction of the three-storeyed Ram temple in Ayodhya is underway after the Supreme Court verdict came in favour of the temple in 2019.
Earlier in January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Ram Lalla idol as per prescribed rituals.
“We need the right kind of storytelling, highlighting it and wherever necessary…
so that the civilizational attempt to restore (temples) is done with fairness…we are not trying to emotionalise anything…emotion we have inside, but proof with which we go to the court should stand out for itself,” Sitharaman said at a book release event here.
Releasing a book titled ‘Waiting for Shiva Unearthing the Truth of Kashi Gyan Vapi’ written by Vikram Sampath, she said documentation has been an inherent part of the Hindu way of life.
The Gyanvapi Mosque has been at the centre of debate, with many believing that it was built on the remains of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Various petitions in different courts, including the Supreme Court, Allahabad High Court, and Varanasi district court, are trying to deal with different angles of the dispute.
Documentations continued till the 11th century and these were also mentioned by Chinese and Persian scholars who visited India in the past. However, later the tradition suffered, she said, adding, that documentation does suggest that there was repeated turbulence in Kashi for over 800 years.
She said that Sita Ram Goel had written a well-researched book on Kashi temple and Meenakshi Jain on Mathura temple.
