Will demolish any mosque built in Babur’s name: UP Deputy CM Maurya warns
Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday issued a stern warning that any attempt to build structures in the name of Mughal emperor Babur would face strong opposition and would be demolished immediately.
His remarks came a day after suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir laid the foundation stone for a mosque in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, modelled after the demolished Babri Masjid of Ayodhya.
“We have no objection to the construction of any mosque. But if anyone builds it in the name of Babur, we will not only oppose it but pull it down without delay,” Maurya said, asserting that the state government would not tolerate attempts to revive symbols linked to the Mughal ruler.
Maurya also launched a sharp attack on the Samajwadi Party (SP), claiming that its president Akhilesh Yadav had “lost control” of his party after the “humiliating defeat” in the recent Bihar Assembly elections.
“After the party’s disastrous loss in Bihar, Akhilesh Yadav’s mental state has deteriorated. He is now living in unrealistic dreams,” Maurya alleged.
The Deputy CM further claimed that although the SP managed to win a few seats in the 2024 Uttar Pradesh elections, it would not even be in a position to sit as the principal opposition party in the 2027 Assembly polls.
Maurya’s statement comes amid heightened political tensions after Kabir’s mosque foundation event drew controversy, with critics alleging that invoking Babri Masjid symbolism could trigger communal friction ahead of multiple state elections.
