Claiming that a mosque situated in the Nishadraj Fort in Prayagraj is “illegal”, Fisheries Minister Sanjay Nishad has demanded its removal, saying if it is not done so, then people of the Nishad community “will throw the mosque in Ganga”.
Speaking at an event in Ballia district on Monday, the NISHAD party chief said, “…when late Indira Gandhi got excavation done at Nishadraj fort… there was no mosque there. There is a full report on this. This means that the mosque was built later… That means it is illegal. It is a centre of Hindus and Nishad community’s place of faith…
Lakhs of people go there on the anniversary of (tribal king) Nishadraj. They return angry. How long will I stop them?… If this time on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the king, the mosque is not removed, then it will be thrown in Ganga. If the (Nishad) community throws it, I will stand with them.”
He also claimed that barring a few Muslim leaders, a majority of the minority community wanted the Ram Temple to be built in Ayodhya. “What (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji has done for the country is exemplary. We are the fifth largest economy. Nine years ago, we were tenth. We are leading the G20. There is no religion, no community for which Modiji has not worked,” he said, adding that his party would contest the next year’s Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the BJP.
The Nishad Party, which has six MLAs in the UP Vidhan Sabha, had contested the 2022 Assembly elections in alliance with the BJP.
Admitting that the country is facing high inflation, Nishad claimed it was an “international issue”. “The Opposition leaders, who are now talking of inflation, ruined our economy when they were in power,” he said.
He also expressed grief over the death of people amid a heatwave in Ballia district. “There is an ongoing probe. It is a natural disaster and our government will provide all possible help to the affected people,” he said.