Congress slams BJP over broken statues at Mahakal temple, demands probe

Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government of corruption after idols of Lord Shiva were damaged

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government of corruption after idols of Lord Shiva were damaged in Ujjain’s Mahakal temple premises due to strong winds on Sunday afternoon, demanding a high court-monitored probe into the matter.

The idols of the Saptarishis underwent maximum damage with a few toppling to the ground, while few others had their hands and heads broken.

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Addressing a press conference here, Congress’ Madhya Pradesh in-charge J.P. Agarwal said, “In Karnataka, we had coined the slogan of ’40 per cent commission government’, and a similar scam has come to the fore in Madhya Pradesh and that too at the Mahakal temple.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the renovated temple complex in October last year

Agarwal said that Ujjain’s Mahakal temple is one of the 12 ‘Jyotirlingas’, which is visited by scores of devotees.

Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Agarwal said, “The renovated temple was inaugurated by the Prime Minister last year and the whole world saw it on television.”

Agarwal said that several statues of ancient gods were broken due to strong winds inside the well-known Mahakal (Lord Shiva) temple corridor.

“It seems that the faulty statues were installed in a hurry ahead of PM Modi’s visit. Around Rs 351 crore was spent on the statues. A grand show was organised at public expense for the PM’s event. The statues breaking down in less than eight months shows they were made of poor-quality materials,” Agarwal said.

“We demand a probe by a high court judge into the entire episode as concerns over the quality of statues had been raised earlier also, but they were brushed aside by the state government,” he said.

Agarwal also demanded an apology from the BJP for the ‘corruption’.

His remarks came two days after the Mahakal Lok corridor, located at Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple, experienced massive destruction caused by strong winds on Sunday afternoon. The idols of the Saptarishis underwent maximum damage as a few toppled to the ground.