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VARANASI: District administration and police on Sunday foiled the attempt of a group of Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists to reach the closed temple in Madanpura to offer jalabhishek.
VHP activists, led by city (north) unit president Rajesh Mishra and city (south) president Sachchidanand, took out a march from their Englishialine office with water from Ganga, Gomati and Varuna in urns and had reached up to Maldhaiya crossing when police stopped them.
ADM City Alok Kumar said people heading towards Madanpura were informed that documentary facts of the closed temple were being examined, though there was no dispute over its existence. He said before making any decision regarding reopening of the temple, everyone should try to cooperate and expressed hope that the administration would complete its exercise in a week.
Mishra said following this assurance from ADM City, VHP activists decided to postpone their march and returned to their office. The closed temple in Madanpura came into limelight on Dec 16 when a lesser-known organisation, Sanatan Rakshak Dal, reached the Devnathpura locality in the communally sensitive Madanpura, claiming that the temple, lying closed and abandoned, was of ‘Siddheshwar Mahadev‘ as mentioned in the Kashi Khand text. The next day, scores of women reached there, started blowing conch shells and recited mantras. The Muslim-dominated area was tense even as residents said they had no objection to prayers at the temple as long as peace was not disturbed.
A heavy police force was deployed in the area, while district magistrate S Rajalingam, after taking stock of the area, assigned SDM City to examine facts and documents pertaining to the closed temple. An organisation of Vedic and Sanskrit scholars, Shri Kashi Vidwat Parishad, also began a study of the temple and found that SRD’s claim of the temple being of Siddheshwar Mahadev was true. The parishad is collecting more facts before giving its final opinion on the issue.
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