New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s remarks on Kashi and Mathura have raised new concerns among Muslim groups, legal experts and rights advocates. His comments at a public event suggested that campaigns around the Gyanvapi and Shahi Eidgah sites will intensify in the coming months. Critics say this signals a wider effort to challenge Muslim heritage through political and legal routes.
At the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in 2025, Adityanath said the state would work toward building temples in Kashi and Mathura. He added that the government had already reached many such sites. His statement followed ongoing petitions by several Hindu groups that seek greater control over the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Eidgah mosque in Mathura.
Opposition parties and Muslim organisations said the chief minister’s remarks echo the path that led to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. They said the approach will undermine the Places of Worship Act of 1991. They called the statement an attempt to shift public focus from governance and economic issues to identity questions. Rights groups warned that these repeated references to historic mosque sites risk inflaming tension.
Legal scholars pointed out that multiple petitions are already pending in courts. They said political statements at this stage raise doubts about the neutrality of the state. Muslim leaders said the community views these developments with worry as they target long-standing religious sites that serve as markers of history.
Adityanath praised the completion of the Ayodhya project during his interaction at the event. He said society should feel pride in cultural heritage. Critics said the remarks frame the Ayodhya settlement as a beginning rather than a conclusion. They said this approach signals a prolonged campaign to reshape public memory by revisiting historic Muslim sites.
