Mosque demolition BJP’s ploy to stir up trouble: Akhilesh

However, claiming it to be an “illegal structure”, the district administration had asserted that its action was in compliance with the law.

In his first response to the incident Wednesday, the SP chief said, “The move to demolish the mosque by the administration goes against the spirit of brotherhood and communal harmony that is enshrined in the Constitution. With the state polls approaching, the BJP is trying to create communal tension. It has always indulged in its brand of politics at the expense of the country’s Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (culture of harmony).”

He said the BJP is resorting to politics of hatred to fan tensions in the run-up to the polls. “The people need to be wary of this. Demolishing a 100-year-old mosque is misuse of power. The BJP has a history of being involved in such acts,” the former CM added.

He also demanded the restoration of the mosque and a judicial probe into the incident by a sitting judge of the Allahabad High Court.

The Samjawadi Party chief informed that he had constituted a committee of party leaders who will meet officials concerned to discuss the issue.

The panel comprises former Cabinet minister Arvind Singh, former MP Ram Sagar Rawat, former ministers Fareed Mahfuz Kidwai and Rakesh Verma, MLAs Suresh Yadav and Guarav Rawat, MLC Rajesh Yadav Raju, party’s Barabanki district chief Hafiz Ayaz and party leader Choudhary Adnan.