Early morning on February 18, Chandni Chowk resident Banke Bihari Mittal received a phone call from a neighbour telling him to be present a...
Early morning on February 18, Chandni Chowk resident Banke Bihari Mittal received a phone call from a neighbour telling him to be present at the central verge of the historic stretch in Old Delhi that has the Red Fort at one end and Fatehpuri Masjid on the other.
A structure, coated with stickers of Jindal stainless steel, in the design of a temple, containing a Hanuman idol, had been established on the central verge that morning. The temple had been demolished on January 3 following orders from the Delhi High Court for the implementation of the Chandni Chowk redevelopment plan.
“It was a miracle,” claimed Mittal, 65, who sat at the temple, substituting for the priest who was absent, on the afternoon of February 22. He claimed to not know how the stainless steel structure was drilled into spot, which was supposed to be a green patch.
The new establishment has created a political battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party that controls the municipalities in the capital, the Aam Aadmi Party that runs the Delhi government and the Congress. All three parties accepted the new establishment, and its members flocked to the Walled City to visit the temple.
But the question over the legitimacy of the...
