Yogi’s temple built by ‘BJP supporters’ to ‘capture’ barren land: SP

PTI, Sep 24, 2022, 1:44 PM IST

The Samajwadi Party has claimed that the temple of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Bharatkund was built by “BJP supporters” to “capture” barren land owned by an individual.

In a tweet, the SP also attached a newspaper article in which a native of Ayodhya alleges that his nephew got the temple constructed on his land on the Faizabad-Prayagraj highway, 25 km away from the under-construction Ram Mandir, without his permission.

The temple has a life-size idol of Adityanath, with a bow and arrows, and a halo around his head. The idol is clad in a saffron robe.

Special prayers are being offered twice every day at the temple, followed by morning and evening prayers. Prasad is also distributed to “devotees”.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet on Friday, “The uncle of the person who has built the temple has complained to the chief minister himself that it has been built with the intention of taking illegal possession of his land. Now, the chief minister should tell whether he will take action against the ‘land mafia’ or a special squad will arrive from Delhi.” The SP separately issued a tweet from its offical handle in which it attached the newspaper report carrying the complainant’s version against his nephew and said, “The biggest land mafia is the BJP! To capture the barren land in Ayodhya, BJP supporters built a temple of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on it. Very embarrassing! How much more will the BJP stoop? Get the matter investigated and take action against the culprits under the National Security Act.” Prabhakar Maurya, who got the temple built, had earlier said, “We have built the temple of Yogiji, who is building the temple of Lord Ram.” Maurya had said he is deeply impressed by the Adityanath’s works.

“The chief minister has acquired a deity-like place because of the public welfare works he has undertaken. That is why the idea of a temple for him came to my mind,” he had said.