Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav on Monday visited Bhojshala in Dhar for the first time after the Madhya Pradesh High Court declared the disputed site a Hindu temple of Maa Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati).
During the visit, he offered prayers and announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of three people who lost their lives during the Bhojshala movement in the past.
The Chief Minister said he felt elated to worship and seek the blessings of Maa Vagdevi at Bhojshala on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra after 750 years.
Dr. Yadav also announced the construction of a grand ‘Saraswati Lok’ and a ‘Bhoj Shodh Sansthaan’ in Dhar.
Targeting the Congress, the Chief Minister alleged that the party had only tried to divide people in the name of religion.
He felicitated the families of the three individuals who had sacrificed their lives during the Bhojshala movement.
During his visit, the Chief Minister also laid foundation stones and inaugurated several public welfare and development projects for Dhar district.
He additionally participated in ‘shramdaan’ (voluntary labour) under the ‘Jal Ganga Samvardhan Abhiyaan’ aimed at water conservation.
On May 15, the Madhya Pradesh High Court accepted the disputed Bhojshala structure in Dhar as a Hindu place of worship dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati). The Indore Bench of the High Court delivered its verdict after hearing five petitions related to the matter.
In its judgment, the court placed the protection of the site under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and granted Hindus the right to worship there.
The court also set aside the ASI’s 2003 order that had denied Hindus the right to worship at the site. Another order allowing Muslims to offer namaz every Friday at the complex was also quashed.
The Muslim side has maintained that the Bhojshala structure is the Kamal Maula Mosque. While accepting the High Court’s order, representatives of the Muslim side stated that they would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.