'Mandir Wahin Banayenge': Jains Unite To Demand Restoration Of Vile Parle Temple And Suspension Of BMC Ward Officer
Mumbai: Jains have solidified the movement to save the partly demolished Vile Parle home temple by seeking the chief minister’s intervention and have demanded the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to construct a new temple at the same place. The community will organise a huge rally on Saturday demanding the suspension of the ward officer who ordered the demolition.
On Wednesday, the BMC demolished a major part of a Jain temple located inside Vile Parle’s Neminath Cooperative Housing Society as the temple land was reserved to construct a recreational ground. The Free Press Journal had reported on Friday that the Jain community has expressed resentment against the civic body for rushing the demolition without waiting for the High Court to hear the temple trust’s appeal.
The issue has sparked an uproar among the Jain community across the country and various Jain organisations have come together to form a seven-member committee to lead the issue. On Friday, hundreds of people from the Jain community participated in a meeting organised in Vile Parle, where the committee was formed and it vowed that that the temple be rebuilt on the same place. The temple trust has alleged that the demolition was carried out under the influence of a local businessman who wants to build a hotel on the site.
Minister of skill Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who belongs to the Jain community, also participated in the meeting and assured the community members that the temple would be rebuilt on the same place within 10 days and Vile Parle MLA Parag Alavani would bring a solution to this. He also asked the community members to boycott the businessman accused of influencing the demolition.
Talking to The Free Press Journal, Jamnalal Hapawat, national president of Digambar Jain Global Mahasabha who is a member of the committee, said, “It is very clear that the demolition was influenced by the businessman and the BMC has done a mistake by carrying out this demolition. We will be meeting the CM and the municipal commissioner and will ensure that the temple is restored at the same place.”
The community has decided to hold a huge rally on Saturday to protest against the temple’s demolition and will demand suspension of K/East ward officer Navnath Ghadge, who is accused of passing the domlition order indiscriminately by the temple trust. Jains from across the city are expected to participate in the rally in white clothes and black bands with a demand that the temple should be rebuilt by the BMC on its expense.
Vishwa Jain Sangathan, a Delhi-based jain organisation, also released a statement and demanded that the ward officer and his supporting staff should be immediately expelled and an investigation should be initiated against them. It warned that if the BMC does not apologise and construct a new temple, it will spark nation-wide protests.
“CM Fadnavis has always described the Jain community as the one that produces the highest GDP in the country, pays the highest taxes and does selfless social service work. The temple of the same community was demolished mercilessly by an officer without paying any heed to court orders and religious sentiments, reminding us of the demolition of temples by Aurangzeb in independent India,” said Sanjay Jain, national president of the organisation.
Lalit Gandhi, national president of All India Jain Minority Federation, also wrote to CM Fadnavis and asked him to take action against the BMC official and order restoration of the temple.
"It is condemnable that the demolition was carried out by the BMC for the personal interests of a local businessman. The civic body is claiming that the temple violated legal provisions but there are thousands of illegal structures around us. However, a centre of faith being demolished can not be accepted," he said.
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