SP MP asks Oppn to counter Shivling 'propaganda'

Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq on Thursday said the claimed discovery of a Shivling in Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque complex was false propaganda and urged opposition parties to counter it.

The local MP said Hindus and Muslims should ensure that such propaganda is stopped as every mosque is now being seen with suspicion. He asked why Muslims would keep a Shivling at their place of worship as this would be idol worship, which is against the Shariat.

Earlier this week, Hindu lawyers had claimed that a structure found in the `wazookhana' reservoir at the mosque during a court-ordered survey was a Shivling. The mosque committee members disputed the claim, saying the structure was part of the fountain mechanism at the wazookhana, where people perform ritual ablutions before offering namaz.

The MP termed the BJP an RSS organisation and accused both bodies of trying to spoil the atmosphere in the country.

He said the Waqf board and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other responsible people should work together to save the country and the Muslim community. Barq also questioned the Uttar Pradesh government's recent decision not to provide grants to new madrassas. "This is the result of a conspiracy to hurt Muslims. This is propaganda so that Muslims can't get education," he claimed.