New Delhi: Members of a right-wing group on Tuesday recited the Hanuman Chalisa outside the Qutub Minar complex and staged a protest demanding that the iconic monument here be renamed 'Vishnu Stambha'.
Police said no permission was granted for the gathering and 44 demonstrators were detained and taken to a police station. "Permission was not granted for the gathering. However, 50 persons, belonging to United Hindu Front and Rashtravadi Shiv Sena had gathered for the demonstration. Out of whom, 44 protestors were detained under relevant section of the Delhi Police Act," said Benita Mary Jaiker, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South).
International working president of the United Hindu Front, Bhagwan Goyal, claimed that the Qutub Minar is the 'Vishnu Stambha', which was built by the "great king Vikramaditya". "But later, Qutubuddin Aibak claimed credit for it. There were 27 temples in the complex and those were destroyed by Aibak. Proof of all this is available as people can find idols of Hindu gods kept in the Qutub Minar complex. Our demand is that Qutub Minar should be called as Vishnu Stambha," he told PTI.
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The protestors chanted 'Jai Shri Ram', recited the Hanuman Chalisa and displayed placards reading "Qutub Minar should be called Vishnu Stambha", after the Hindu God Vishnu. Goyal claimed that idols are kept at different spots in the complex and demanded that they should be kept at one place and "we should be given the right to worship there".
"We have given a memorandum of our demands to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy," he said. He said that Tuesday's Hanuman Chalisa recitation and protest programme was to highlight the demand of several Hindu groups.
The event came after Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta, earlier in the day, demanded New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to change the names of half a dozen streets bearing names of Mughal emperors and rename them after Maharshi Valmiki, Maharana Pratap, General Bipin Rawat, and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
The demand by Gupta comes days after a proposal was sent by the Delhi BJP to the Kejriwal government, urging it to rename 40 villages including Humayunpur, Yusuf Sarai, Begumpur, Saidul Ajab, Hauz Khas among others after freedom fighters, martyrs, Delhi riot victims, famous artistes, and sportsperson of the country.
In his letter to the NDMC chairman, the Delhi BJP president said despite several years of Independence, names of some roads in Delhi symbolised "slavery". Gupta demanded Tughlaq Road to be renamed after Guru Gobind Singh and Babar Lane after revolutionary Khudiram Bose. He further suggested that Aurangzeb Lane should be renamed as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Lane, Humayun Road as Maharshi Valmiki Road and Shahjahan Road as General Bipin Rawat Road.
"It is our demand that Tughlaq that symbolises slavery be changed to Guru Gobind Singh Marg for paying tribute to the great figure," Gupta said. He also demanded renaming Akbar Road after Maharana Pratap who fought the Mughals and was considered "pride of Hindus" on the Rajput icon's 482nd birth anniversary.
PTI
