'Gyanvapi, a mosque? What's a 'Trishul' doing inside it?' UP CM Yogi Adityanath

“There will be a dispute, if we call Gyanvapi a mosque,” said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday. Yogi’s remarks come amid the ongoing dispute between the Hindu and Muslim sides over the Gyanvapi issue. In an interview to ANI, Yogi said the Muslim side should accept its historical mistake and propose a solution. Replying to a possible solution for the Gyanvapi and Kashi Vishwanath Temple issue, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, “If we call Gyanvapi a mosque then there will be a dispute. I think people should examine - what is a ‘Trishul’ (trident) doing inside Gyanvapi, Hindus did not place them there. There is jyotirling, idols of god.” “I think that the Muslim side should accept its historical mistake and propose a solution,” the UP CM said. The Varanasi district court had previously ordered an ASI survey of the entire area, excluding the disputed parts of the Gyanvapi premises. The mosque committee had appealed against this order in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court later transferred the case to the high court, halting the survey.

Meanwhile, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has sought help from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, in the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises to determine if the structure was built upon a temple. On 21 July, a Varanasi district court allowed the ASI to carry out a scientific survey of the 17th-century mosque. However, on 24 July, the Supreme Court stayed the Varanasi court’s order and asked the mosque committee to approach the Allahabad High Court against the district court’s order. On 27 July, the Allahabad High Court reserved its order on the matter till 3 August and extended the stay on the ASI survey till that day. Yogi Adityanath on I.N.D.I.A Asked for comments on Opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A, Yogi said changing attire (name) does not set them free from their misdeeds of the past. “India nahi bolna chahiye. Ye jo dot dot dot dot group hain… Chola badalne se, pichhle karmon se mukti nahi mil jayegi.. (Changing the attire would not help them get free from the misdeeds of the past). With inputs from agencies