VHP delegation meets Hardeep Puri, seeks reconstruction of Sant Ravidas temple

A Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) delegation on Monday met Union Minister for Urban Development Hardeep Puri and sought immediate steps for the reconstruction of the Sant Ravidas temple in Delhi.

The temple in south Delhi's Tughlakabad was demolished on August 10 by the Delhi Development Authority on the direction of the Supreme Court, sparking protests from Dalits in Punjab and Haryana apart from the national capital.

"The delegation, comprising of senior representatives from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist schools of religion, through a memorandum to Shri Puri, demanded that immediate steps should be taken for the reconstruction of the Sant Ravidas temple," the VHP said in a statement.

The delegation, led by VHP's international working president Alok Kumar, also demanded that appropriate arrangements should be made for regular rituals and prayers in the temple, its water bodies should be rejuvenated, and the samadhis should be fixed.

"The memorandum stated that the demolition of this olden temple on the orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court caused worldwide angst among the devotees and appreciative populace. Lakhs of Hindus participated in the rage under the leadership of revered saints," the statement said.

On October 4, the Supreme Court favoured an "amicable solution" for the re-construction of the Sant Ravidas temple at a better location, saying it respects everybody's "sentiments" but the law has to be followed.