"Better late than never": BJP welcomes Maulana Mahmood Madani's remarks on Gyanvapi, Mathura disputes

New Delhi [India], September 6 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders welcomed Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind chief Maulana Mahmood Madani's support for dialogue between Muslim communities and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the dispute over the Gyanvapi and Mathura mosques.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said that Maulana Mahmood Madani's remarks in the matter came late, but "better late than never".
He said, "There should be a full discussion on Gyanvapi, Kashi, and Mathura. Maulana Mahmood Madani is saying this today because he is a Maulana; he is saying it late. Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind should not have abandoned the dialogue earlier... But better late than never."
Referring to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's statement on the issue, he said, "The RSS Sarsanghchalak has said that they will not participate in the movements for Kashi and Mathura, but a solution must be found for it. In response to that, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has said that they are ready for talks."
Earlier, Mohan Bhagwat had stated that the Ram Temple was the only movement officially endorsed by the Sangh, although members are permitted to advocate for the Kashi and Mathura movements.
BJP leader Ajay Alok welcomed the call for a dialogue and said, "We welcome dialogue. Whether it is Mahmood Madani or RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, there is consensus between both. Certainly, every person should welcome this. Whichever controversial issues there are, if they are resolved through dialogue, the entire country will welcome it."
BJP leader RP Singh called Mathura and Kashi the heritage of culture.
"Every person who believes in India's culture will support Mohan Bhagwat ji's statement. We welcome that Madani Sahab is saying that they are ready to discuss Gyanvapi, Mathura, and Kashi, which is a good thing. These are the heritage of our culture," Singh said.
BJP leader Nalin Kohli lauded Maulana Madani for emphasising that no "foreigner" or "Bangladeshi" citizen should stay in India.
He said, "If any party wants to have a dialogue in society, then it is a good thing. His statement that the Muslim infiltrators coming to India from abroad are wrong is also correct. To save the foreign infiltrators, some people ignore the country's interests for political reasons. We have an objection to those people."
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rajesh Thakur criticised the idea of a dialogue with the RSS and said that the disputes should be resolved by the administration and courts.
"It is beyond my understanding why he said what he said. I think that whatever decision needs to be made, it will be done by the administration and courts, not RSS. Why will RSS make any decision? Who is RSS?... We still need to figure out why and under whose pressure he has made such statements. The political reason behind such statements is yet to be ascertained. RSS get such things done ahead of the elections," the Congress leader told ANI.
This comes after, in an interview with ANI, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind chief said his organisation had already passed a resolution in favour of engagement, stressing that while there were "differences", efforts must be made to reduce them.
"There are a lot of ifs and buts...My organisation passed a resolution that there should be engagement. There are differences, but we need to minimise...We will support all efforts of talks. Recently, the RSS chief made statements on Gyanvapi and Mathura Kashi. His efforts to reach out to the Muslim community should be praised and appreciated. We will support all kinds of dialogues," Madani told ANI. (ANI)