Prominent Aligarh Muslims slam Salma Ansari's plan to build temple, mosque in Madrasa | Photo Credit: ANI

Key Highlights Former vice-president Hamid Ansari's wife Salma Ansari proposed the move Salma Ansari's move is aimed at promoting Hindu-Muslim unity SP MLA Zameer Ullah Khan said it will create more such demands to build temples in madrasas elsewhere

Aligarh/New Delhi: Former vice president Hamid Ansari’s wife’s decision to construct a temple and a mosque inside the “Chacha Nehru Madrasa” run by her has created a controversy. Salma Ansari, in a bid to promote Hindu-Muslim unity and religious tolerance announced the move earlier also citing security reasons for the students studying there.

Ansari said the move will help Hindu students studying in the Aligarh madrasa, as they have to go out of the premises everytime they want to pray.

"The security of the students who reside in the Hostel here is our responsibility. When they go outside the madarsa for visiting a temple or mosque and some untoward incident happened then it will be our responsibility. Realising it, we have decided that both mosque and temple would be constructed within the premises so that the security and safety of our children is ensured," she was quoted by news agency ANI as saying earlier.

"I want that in building Hindustan everyone should have a say. Here I am concerned only with the safety of our children".

"The death penalty for mob lynching is a good deterrent. Such crimes are a blot on society. While running a madarsa we must look at its every aspect," she added.

The announcement was made with resentment from some prominent Muslims in the city.

Samajwadi Party (SP) Aligarh MLA from Koil constituency Zameer Ullah Khan slammed the move arguing the temple should be “built at a better place and madrasa is not the right place for the same otherwise people will start demanding temples to be constructed in other madrasas as well”.

Similarly, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) scholar and Professor of Theology, Mufti Zahid, said that Muslims cannot propagate idol worship, leave alone establish a temple at madrasa premises. Hundreds of Muslim and Hindu students study at the ‘Chacha Nehru Madrasa’ which is run by Ansari.

