Lucknow: Proposal to install Laxman statue outside mosque draws flak

The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) proposal to install a statue of Lord Laxman outside the historic Teele Wali Masjid here has drawn flak from the Muslim community.

A Muslim cleric, in an interview to ANI, claimed that any such installation would create a hindrance to people offering prayers at the mosque.

"In Islam, we cannot offer namaz (prayers) in front of a statue. This is a big problem for us," said Maulana Fazl-e-Mannan of Teele Wali Masjid.

He further said that even though he has made a request to officials in this regard, he would bring the matter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's notice.

On Saturday, the Lucknow Nagar Nigam in its meeting passed a proposal for the Laxman statue.

The proposal, which was put forward by BJP leaders Ram Krishan Yadav and Rajnish Gupta, will be presented in the state assembly soon.

The aforementioned mosque has been in the news earlier too when BJP veteran Lal Ji Tandon's book Ankaha Lucknow claimed that the centuries-old place of worship was actually 'Laxman ka Teela'.

Meanwhile, Ram Krishan Yadav, who made the proposal, said that there was no need for any controversy over the issue, as their intention was "clean".

Yadav also clarified that the statue was a way of establishing Lord Laxman's great role in Lucknow.

"Lucknow was based and enhanced by Laxman Ji, we want Lucknow to be renamed as Laxmanpuri. We will also bring a proposal regarding it," he added.

According to reports, the area falls under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), so the Lucknow Nagar Nigam would need an approval to install the grand statue.