A day after she wrote to Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena over an order to demolish several places of worship, Chief Minister Atishi on Wednesday alleged the BJP-led central government's involvement in the matter. The BJP, however, lashed out at the CM and accused her of trying to disturb the communal harmony in the Capital. Even as the L-G’s office on Tuesday had rejected the Chief Minister’s claims, dubbing it as “cheap politics”, Atishi on Wednesday presented a document from the November 22 meeting of the Religious Committee, which according to her, got the L-G’s approval. “The BJP-led central government is planning to demolish several temples and Buddhist religious sites across various parts of Delhi. In Delhi, there is a Religious Committee that makes decisions related to the shifting or demolition of temples and other religious sites. This Religious Committee was formed as per the Supreme Court’s order,” Atishi said. She yet again targeted the L-G for issuing an order last year due to which the Delhi government has no say in the matter. “Any recommendation by the Religious Committee is sent directly to the L-G….The Principal Secretary (Home), who is appointed by the BJP-led central government, makes the decisions, and these decisions are then sent to the L-G for approval,” she said. Accusing the BJP of “blatantly lying” for saying that temples are not going to be demolished Atishi claimed: “Police officers have already been notified to provide the necessary force for these demolitions.”. Hitting back, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva accused Atishi of trying to disturb communal harmony and demanded that she should withdraw her statements. “Religious Committee is chaired by the Home Minister of the Delhi Government and reports to both the Chief Minister and the L-G.” Sachdeva said a similar scenario ahead of the 2020 elections when AAP had raised issues surrounding the Citizenship Amendment Act. “The statements had subsequently led to riots under the leadership of an AAP councillor after the elections,” he said.
