Former Minister & ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir has accused Home Minister Mahmood Ali of misleading the Muslim and Hindu communities on the issue of re-construction of two mosques and a temple in the Secretariat premises which were illegally demolished in July 2020 by the TRS Government.
Referring to the statement issued by the Home Minister stating that the State Government has postponed the date for laying foundation stones for reconstruction of two mosques and a temple, Shabbir Ali said that the Home Minister should clarify whether TRS Government had officially fixed any date for foundation stone laying ceremony. “Three ministers and a few other leaders of TRS held an informal meeting with the select representatives of a few religious organisations. They did not even issue a formal statement although they apparently forced a few leaders to give a statement that the foundation stone would be laid on February 26,” he said in a media statement on Tuesday.
“It was Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao who has been lying on the issue since the demolition of three places of worship on the intervening night of 7-8th July, 2020, along with other structures in the Old Secretariat premises. In the first statement issued on 10th July, 2020, he claimed that minor damages had occurred to two mosques and a temple. He also directed the police department not to book an FIR as the mosques were Wakf properties and they were demolished illegally. But three days later, the State Government confessed before the High Court that all the structures, including the places of worship, in the Secretariat have been razed to the ground. CM KCR then gave an assurance to a delegation of religious leaders that the demolished mosques and temple would be reconstructed at the same place within a month. He repeated the same statement on the floor of the Assembly that the foundation stone would be laid in the first week of October 2020 after the end of the Assembly session. He cheated both, the Muslims and Hindus, by making false promises and dragged the issue to facilitate the construction of a new structure,” he said.
Shabbir Ali said that the Home Minister’s statement was only aimed at pacifying the Muslim and Hindu communities in view of forthcoming MLC elections and Nagarjuna Sagar by-polls. “The construction of the new Secretariat is going on in full swing. Roads & Buildings Minister Prashant Reddy is touring Delhi and other northern States to select stones. No place has been earmarked for the reconstruction of two mosques and a temple at the original sites in the new Secretariat plan. The design of the new mosque, which was circulated in the social media, is not official. KCR is not serious about reconstructing the places of worship at the same place. He is just buying time to suppress the agitation,” he said.
The Congress leader said that Home Minister Mahmood Ali could not be trusted as he enjoys no power to make a statement on the reconstruction of mosques. Despite being a Deputy CM and then the Home Minister, he could not prevent demolition of at least six mosques across Telangana State, including Ek Khana Masjid of Amberpet. Everyone knows that he can only praise KCR, but he is not authorised to make statements on behalf of the Chief Minister. He is simply cheating the Muslims by saying that the foundation stone laying ceremony has been postponed in view of the Model Code of Conduct. Immediately after the MLC elections, we will have by-elections for Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly constituency. It will be followed by elections for Khammam and Warangal Municipal Corporations. Therefore, Telangana will witness Model Code of Conduct for the next 5-6 months. During this period, the construction of the new Secretariat building would be completed and TRS Govt would simply ask people to forget the mosques and temple as they did in the case of Ek Khana Masjid and other places, he said.
Shabbir Ali demanded that the Chief Minister issue a statement giving clarity on the dates for reconstruction of both the mosques and a temple. Further, he said that the State Government should permit both the communities to restore prayers at the original places as it does not attract MCC. He also advised Mahmood Ali not to mislead the Muslims only to please KCR and he should keep ‘Akhirah’ in mind before making false statements relating to mosques.