After the Varanasi Court allowed Hindu devotees to offer prayers inside the Gyanvapi complex, Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side, said that daily puja has started in ‘Vyas parivar Tehkhana’.”
“In compliance with the order of Varanasi Court, the State Government and district administration have made amendments to the barricading, and daily puja has started in ‘Vyas parivar Tehkhana’,” Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain told the media on February 1.
“It was very quick for a State Government to stop the puja, and so it is very quick under this State Government to comply with the order of the court,” he added. This comes after a Varanasi court on January 31 allowed Hindu devotees to offer prayers inside the ‘Vyas Ka Tehkhana’ area inside the Gyanvapi complex.
Varanasi: After court order, puja took place at 2 o'clock in the night in Vyas basement of Gyanvapi.
This puja took place after 30 years. Local deities also took blessings of Mahadev pic.twitter.com/vk6Pp1rIfu
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) February 1, 2024
Jitendra Nath Vyas, a member of the Vyas family who has been allowed to offer prayers inside Gyanvapi complex in UP’s Varanasi, ” We are very happy that we have got the permission to resume puja there. At the time of the puja (yesterday), 5 priests of the (Kashi Vishwanath) Mandir trust, members of the Vyas family, Varanasi DM and Commissioner were present there.”
#WATCH | Jitendra Nath Vyas, a member of the Vyas family who has been allowed to offer prayers inside Gyanvapi mosque in UP's Varanasi, " We are very happy that we have got the permission to resume puja there. At the time of the puja (yesterday), 5 priests of the (Kashi… pic.twitter.com/IGZqaJiov1
— ANI (@ANI) February 1, 2024
Earlier, advocate Sohan Lal Arya said that arrangements have been made, but Vyas Ka Tekhana has not been opened for the devotees yet. Devotees expressed their happiness over the Varanasi Court’s order.
Sohan Lal Arya said, “We are feeling very proud today. The court’s decision yesterday was unprecedented…The arrangements have been made but it (Vyas Ka Tehkhana) has not been opened for the devotees yet…”
Advocate Dheerendra Pratap Singh, a devotee, said that they are extremely happy and emotional with the court’s order.
“We all come here by 3-3:00 am every day for Darshan. We are extremely happy and emotional with the court’s order. Our happiness knows no bounds that we are getting the right to have ‘Darshan’ of our God. We would like that it should be opened to the general public as soon as possible,” he said.
The devotees were heard chanting the ‘Har-Har Mahadev’ slogan. The court had asked the district administration to make the necessary arrangements within the next seven days.
Meanwhile, Muslim side lawyer Akhlaq Ahmed said that they will approach the Allahabad High Court to challenge the Varanasi Court’s decision.
Akhlaq Ahmed said, “We will approach the Allahabad High Court against the decision. The order has overlooked the Advocate Commissioner report of 2022, ASI’s report, and the decision of 1937, which was in our favour. Hindu side has not placed any evidence that prayers were held before 1993. There is no such murti in the place.” The complex has four ‘Tehkhana’ (cellars) in the basement, of which one is still in the possession of the Vyas family, who used to live there.
(with inputs from ANI)
