L-G issued orders to demolish of 11 temples in Delhi: Atishi

New Delhi: Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Atishi claimed on Thursday that Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena has ordered demolition of 14 religious sites, which includes 11 temples, in Delhi.

In a letter to the L-G, she said: “I have received information from the Public Works Department that you have ordered the demolition of 14 religious sites in Delhi. This includes 11 temples and 3 mausoleums. Department officials informed me that when the proposal to demolish these religious sites was presented to the then Home Minister, Manish Sisodia, through the Religious Committee in February 2023, he expressed his opposition and suggested changing the plans for their projects instead of demolishing the temples.”

According to Atishi’s letter, “when the file reached to L-G office from the office of Sisodia, he (Saxena) rejected the proposal and issued orders to demolish the temples and other religious sites”.

“Officials have also mentioned that you wrote in the file that the matter of demolishing temples is a legal and order issue, so you have the full authority to make decisions regarding it. Furthermore, it was instructed that any file related to demolishing temples should not be sent to the elected government but should be directly sent to you through the Chief Secretary,” her letter reads.

She said that on Wednesday, she was informed by the PWD that they were demolishing several temples in Delhi as the L-G has ordered.

“This morning, even the Shiv Temple in Mandawali was demolished. Temples and other religious sites are associated with people’s faith. Therefore, I urge you to reconsider your decision to demolish the 11 temples and other religious sites to ensure that the religious sentiments of the people of Delhi are not hurt,” she said.