Amid UP temple ‘purification’ row, unfazed SP MLA Saiyada Khatoon holds her ground

Saiyada was then booked along with 200 unidentified SP workers by the local police after a video was shared on social media in which they were purportedly heard raising alleged “pro-Pakistan” slogans. A case was filed against them on various charges including promoting enmity between groups.

“The earlier case (March 2022) was lodged against me and my workers on false allegation. After investigation, the police gave me and others clean chit,” said Saiyada while speaking to The Indian Express.

Her father Taufique Ahmed had represented the Domariyaganj seat twice – on the SP as well as the BSP tickets. After Taufique’s demise in 2010, Saiyada’s mother Khatoon Taufique won the seat in the bypoll as a BSP candidate.

Saiyada contested the seat in the 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections on the BSP ticket and lost both times. In 2022, however, she clinched the poll on the SP ticket, defeating her BJP rival Raghvendra Pratap Singh by 771 votes.
Referring to the temple “purification” following her visit, Saiyada said she will not stop going to temples because of controversies created by “misguided” people. “I have worked for several temples and visited them. Some people are unnecessarily creating a controversy regarding my visit to get attention,” she said.

Saiyada maintained that she was invited by the Balwa villagers to attend a “maha yagya” there on Saturday evening. “I was invited by the local residents. There, I was welcomed by them and also by ‘katha vachak’ priests who were invited from other districts. After the yagya, I went to the adjacent temple,” she said, adding that the Samay Mata temple there does not have any boundary wall.

The next day, however, a group of locals led by a BJP leader Dharmaraj Verma, the Barhni Chafa Nagar Panchayat chairman, came to the temple to “purify” it by sprinkling Ganga water on its premises. They alleged that since the MLA belongs to a different religion, her visit “disturbed the sanctity of the place”.

Verma charged, “MLA Khatoon disrespected the temple. Being a non-vegetarian, she should have avoided visiting the place.”

However, Saiyada said, “Many priests and sadhus of the area are associated with me and invited me to the Samay Mata temple about ten days ago. I honour all religions, I am a legislator for all the people in the area and will go wherever I am invited.”

The priest of the temple, Krishna Dutt Shukla, also reportedly said that the MLA was invited by villagers for the “maha yagya”, adding that she remained there for some time and talked about amity in society before leaving.

“The next morning Verma and his team came here and questioned me why she had been called and said the temple had become impure because of her presence. They then sprinkled Gangajal and carried out the cleaning exercise,” Shukla said.

The police have since made security arrangements in Balwa village. However, Siddharthnagar Circle Officer Sujit Kumar Rai said no one has filed any complaint in the matter.

The SP’s Siddharthnagar district president Lalji Yadav charged that some people were trying to communalise the MLA’s temple visit. “Temple is a religious place and no one can stop anyone going there. The residents of the village had invited the MLA for a yagya. Sprinkling Ganga water to purify the place is an act of ill-minded people,” he said.

Saiyada said her husband Zaheer Ahmed Malik, who has a PhD in Economics, runs two degree colleges in Siddharth Nagar.
A mother of two sons, Saiyada also said, “I have to manage my house along with responsibility given by people of Domariyaganj. My mother, who is now aged 80 years, help me in performing my duties.”