Amid an ongoing row over the Gyanvapi Mosque, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Wednesday, 18 May, said that the 'truth' behind the religious site's origins should come out.
"Gyanvapi issue is going on. The facts are coming out. I believe we should let them come out. In any case, truth always finds a way out. How long can you hide it? I believe it is time we put historical facts in the right perspective before society," the Sangh’s publicity incharge Sunil Ambekar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying Sanjeev Balyan, who was a chief guest at the event, said that he had been overwhelmed by claims of structures relating to Shiva being found inside the mosque.
“Last week I was in Varanasi when this issue of Gyanvapi was going on. I became emotional. But I became more overwhelmed when a journalist told me that Nandi had been waiting centuries for Lord Shiva. My eyes welled up,” he said, as per an Indian Express report.
The Gyanvapi Mosque Case
The location of Gyanvapi Mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi is adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, and some are of the belief that it was built in the 17th century after the demolition of an existing Vishweshwar temple.
The Varanasi court had ordered a survey of the premises of the mosque in April this year.
After the videography survey of the mosque ended on Monday, 16 May, the counsel representing the petitioners' side claimed that a Shivling had been found after water was drained out of a pond in the complex.
The Varanasi district court subsequently ordered the district magistrate to seal the area where the alleged Shivling had been found and prohibited the entry of any person to the area.
On the other hand, a mosque management committee member challenged the claim, saying that the object found was part of the water fountain mechanism at the wazookhana, adding that the mosque management was not given a chance to present their argument before the court, which issued the order to seal the area based on the claims made by the petitioners.
The survey report prepared by the court-appointed committee is expected to be submitted in the Varanasi court on Thursday.
(With inputs from ANI and The Indian Express)
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