BJP MP Asks Muslims To Give Up Eidgah Mosque Next To Krishna Janma Bhoomi In Mathura, Rakes Up Controversy

MAINPURI || A Rajya Sabha member belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Harnath Singh Yadav raked up a controversy on Monday as he appealed to the Muslims to give up the mosque in Mathura that has been built adjacent to the Krishna Janma Bhoomi.

Talking to reporters in Mainpuri, the law maker said this was his personal opinion and he felt that Lord Krishna belonged to everyone and hence it was prudent that Muslims, on their own should "withdraw from the mosque which has been made after grabbing land that belong to the Krishna Janma Bhoomi".

He went on to say that even in Islam it is said that prayers from an illegal mosque will never be accepted by Allah. "If you don't listen to what we are saying, at least pay heed to what Khuda has said" the BJP Rajya Sabha member mused. Recently a case has been filed by a group seeking vacation on the land that belonged to the Krishna Janma Bhoomi.

The statement by Yadav is likely to further create complications in the contentious issue which from time to time has been the cause of communal tensions. Some Hindu outfits claim that Krishna Janma Bhoomi in Mathura and the land on which the Gyanvapi mosque adjoining the Kashi Vishwanath temple In Varanasi belongs to Hindus.

Ever since the Ram Janma Bhoomi land was handed over by the Supreme Court (SC) to the Hindu's such voices, after a long lull have resurfaced again. Harnath Singh Yadav represents Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha. He hails from the Gopalpur village of Mainpuri.

A former RSS zila pracharak, he has served as BJP state general secretary. He is considered close to former CM Kalyan Singh. He was elected an MLC as an independent in 1996 and later with Samajwadi Party support in 2002 from Agra Graduate Constituency. He lost the council election in 2014, then he joined BJP. In the 2017 UP elections, BJP appointed him in-charge of Yadav-dominated district Mainpuri.