Click to play videoGandhinagar (Gujarat): The demolition drive has revealed an open rift between Hindutva's poster boy and saffron outfits.
VHP President, Ashok Singhal said, "During the Islamic rule, temples were broken down in large numbers and the aim was Islamisation of the country. What do you want to do?"
These angry words sum up the sentiment within the Sangh Parivar against its own poster-boy, Narendra Modi. The Gujarat Chief Minister is under fire from the VHP after his government ordered the demolition of illegal buildings, including temples, in Gandhinagar. As illegally built temples came down, the tirade against Modi rose.
Managing Trustee Sai Baba Temple, Gandhinagar, Manaji Marwadi said, "Those who have desecrated this temple, I am saying this with conviction that their names will be wiped out by people in the days to come."
Some 200 illegal structures have been pulled down so far. Ashok Singhal even met Modi on Friday to convey his displeasure, but the BJP continues to point out that its purely administrative action against encroachment.
Succumbing to pressure from within the Sangh Parivar, Modi has put the brakes on the state wide demolition of illegal religious structures. But events over the past few days have shown that Modi is willing to take on even the Sangh Parivar for the sake of development.
(With inputs from Gaurav Shah)
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