Dadar Hanuman temple won’t be demolished notice stayed BJP leaders

    Mumbai, Dec 14 (PTI) BJP leaders on Saturday claimed that a demolition notice issued by the Railways to a temple outside Mumbai’s Dadar station has been stayed, with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis saying it would be regularised as per rules.

    The assertions by the ruling party leaders came a day after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP over the notice.
    BJP legislator Mangal Prabhat Lodha said the Dadar Hanuman temple will be protected.
    Lodha visited the shrine near Platform No. 12 at Dadar East, adjacent to the Central Railway station. He interacted with the temple trustees and joined the ‘aarti’.
    MLA Kalidas Kolambkar and members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad were also present at the temple.
    Lodha said he had spoken with Union Railway Minister Ashwnin Vaishnaw and an order has been issued to halt the demolition.
    Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Thackeray on Friday claimed that Railways had issued a ‘fatwa’ (edict) to bring down the 80-year-old Hanuman temple built by porters. Taking a dig at the BJP’s “ek hai to safe hai” slogan, he said even temples are not safe in the saffron party’s regime.
    After his temple visit, Lodha, who represents the Malabar Hill assembly constituency in the city, told reporters that the BJP-led governments at the Centre and Maharashtra listen to the concerns over Hindutva and that of the people.
    “We understand the sentiments of the Hindu community regarding this temple, and I assure you that no harm will come to this sacred place. Since we learnt about the situation, BJP leaders, and Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers have all been in contact with railway minister Vaishnaw,” he said.
    The BJP leader said they have made every effort to protect the temple and would continue to do so.
    “Any attempt to politicise religious sentiments has been thwarted before it could succeed, and we have successfully saved the temple,” he asserted.
    In a notice dated December 4 to the trustee/pujari of the temple, the Railways said the structure was an encroachment and constructed without authorisation on land owned by it.
    These structures are affecting the movement of commuters and vehicular traffic. It is also obstructing the construction of infrastructure works at Dadar station, it said. The Railways had given a seven-day notice for the removal of the structure.
Lodha said the notice has been stayed.
    Responding to a question about the temple, Fadnavis, who was at the ‘Pune Book Festival 2024’, said, “The process of classification of temples is underway. Ancient temples are preserved. The issue of Dadar Hanuman temple will be discussed with the railway administration and a solution will be found. We will regularise it as per the rules.”

    His party colleague and former MP Kirit Somaiya also visited the temple on Saturday. He told the trustees that the railway officials had assured him the temple wouldn’t be demolished.
    Attacking Thackeray, Somaiya told reporters that those who put devotees of the deity in jail for chanting ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ eventually have to surrender before Lord Hanuman, referring to the arrest of former MP Navneet Rana in Mumbai two years ago.
    “He has accepted Sajjad Nomani, Ulema board, Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh and ‘vote jihad’ and should stay committed to them,” Somaiya said.
    Meanwhile, former Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale said he has written to Vaishnaw citing that a similar notice was issued a few years ago and was stopped after his intervention. He urged the Union minister to find a permanent solution to the matter saying that the temple is very popular among locals.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)