KCR \'sorry\' about mosque, temple damage in Secretariat; promises grand replacements

Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has expressed “regret” and “pain” over the damage cause to a temple and a mosque during the demolition of buildings in the Secretariat complex, and promised to build a temple and mosque in the new admin hub that will come up there.

In a statement, the chief minister said: “I came to know that while demolishing the multi-storeyed old buildings, the temple and mosque adjacent to the old buildings were damaged as debris fell on them.“I feel sorry about the incident. It should not have happened. The government’s intention was to build a new complex by demolishing the old building

osque.

“We will construct a temple and m

s without causing any damage to the temple or the mosque in the Secretariat premises in a more spacious way even if it means spending of crores of rupees. We will construct the temple and mosque at government cost and hand them over to the people concerned.”

Chandrashakar Rao said he would discuss the reconstruction with the groups that maintained the temple and mosque. “This is my promise. Telangana is a secular state. We will continue the secular spirit come what may. This incident happened unexpectedly,” he said.

“Everyone should understand this properly without prejudice.”

After the demolition/damage to the shrines was reported in the media, opposition parties have piled on to the issue. The BJP has demanded a replacement ‘temple’ at the exact spot where it stood , while Congress leaders said the government has succeeded in making a Babri Masjid-like issue.