NEW DELHI: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday demanded the Muslim community to hand over the Gyanvapi community to the Hindu community by claiming that the ASI report has “reconfirmed” that the mosque in Varanasi was constructed after “demolishing a temple” at the site.In a statement issued on Saturday, VHP’s international working president, Alok Kumar, said that the evidence collected by the ASI from the Gyanvapi structure confirms that the mosque had been constructed after demolishing a “magnificent temple.””A part of the temple structure, particularly the western wall, is the remaining part of the Hindu Temple. The report also proves that parts of the pre-existing temple, including pillars and pilasters, were reused with modifications to extend the span of the mosque and in the construction of the sahan,” the statement continued.Alok also claimed that the Shivlinga in what was called the Wazukhana leaves no doubt that the structure does not have the character of a mosque. “The discovery of the names, including Janardana, Rudra, and Umeswara, in the inscriptions found in the structure are the telltale evidence of this being a temple,” he claimed.”The evidence collected and the conclusions provided by the ASI do prove that the religious character of this place of worship existed on the 15th day of August, 1947, and as at present, it is of a Hindu temple,” Alok Kumar said.”Thus, even as per Section 4 of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, the structure should be declared as a Hindu temple,” he also demanded.The VHP president also demanded that the Hindus be permitted to offer Sewa Puja to the Shivlinga found in the Wazukhana area. He called upon the Intezamia Committee to agree to respectfully shift the Gyanvapi Mosque to another appropriate place and to hand over the original site of Kashi Vishvanatha to the Hindu Society.The VHP claimed that this “righteous action” will be an important step towards creating “amicable relations between the two prominent communities of Bharat.”The VHP’s demands came after the ASI survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque complex was made public two days ago, with the lawyer representing the Hindu litigants claiming that the mosque was built after demolishing a pre-existing temple.
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