Friday, May 3

Ayodhya, Kashi Target Achieved… It’s Now Braj Bhoomi (Mathura)’s Turn: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath

Edited by Dileep Kumar S
Ayodhya, Kashi Target Achieved, It's Now Braj Bhoomi (Mathura)'s Turn: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi caused controversy with his communally charged speech in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh’s BJP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath invoked the politically charged mandir discourse as he was speaking from Fatehpur Sikri in Agra. Referring to the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the recent court orders related to Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, he said the targets in Ayodhya and Kashi have been met and the next is Braj Bhumi (Mathura).

“Ayodhya and Kashi have achieved its target… it’s now Braj bhoomi’s turn,” the UP chief minister can be heard saying in a viral video.


In December last year, the Supreme Court declined to stay an Allahabad High Court order permitting a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque premises located near the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.

The Krishna Janmabhoomi temple controversy in Mathura revolves around the claim made by certain Hindu groups that the Shahi Idgah mosque was built at the site believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The Shahi Idgah mosque, located adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex, has been a point of contention for decades.

In recent years, various Hindu organizations and individuals have raised demands for the removal of the mosque and the construction of a grand temple dedicated to Lord Krishna at the purported birthplace. They argue that the mosque was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after demolishing a pre-existing Hindu temple.

The controversy gained renewed attention in 2021 when a civil suit was filed in a Mathura court seeking the removal of the mosque and the construction of a Krishna temple at the site. The suit was filed on behalf of the deity Shri Krishna Virajman through a next friend, claiming ownership of the entire 13.37-acre Krishna Janmabhoomi complex.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court declined to grant a stay on the Allahabad High Court’s order allowing Hindu parties to conduct puja in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi Mosque. However, the court directed both Hindu and Muslim parties to maintain the status quo at the Gyanvapi premises to maintain religious prayers for both communities.

Presided over by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, the top court refused to stay the Varanasi’s January 31 order permitting Hindu groups to perform puja in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi Mosque, known as the ‘Vyas Tehkhana’. Instead, the Court ordered that the status quo be upheld to allow both Hindu and Muslim communities to offer prayers without disturbance.