Demand for new church at Telangana Secretariat grows after mosque-temple row

The Federation of Telugu Churches (FTC) has requested the state government to build a church on the new Telangana Secretariat premises. Following damage to two mosques and a temple during the construction of the complex, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao promised to rebuild them.

Claiming that church services were always held in the old Secretariat, the Federation urged the Chief Minister to construct a church along with a mosque and a temple in the proposed complex.

While demolishing the existing structures last week, the authorities also damaged the mosques and temple, sparking protests from both communities and the opposition parties.

The Chief Minister expressed his regret over the incident and promised that the government will rebuild them as part of the new complex.

The FTC wrote to the Chief Minister that from the beginning of the old Secretariat, Christian worship was held there.

"Every Wednesday during the lunch break, prayers were offered at first in the Association Hall of the K Block. Later in 2007, (then) Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy inaugurated the church hall in the large shed opposite the L Block, where church services are being offered till recently," the FTC said.

It claimed that there was a long-pending request with the government for allotment of land in the Secretariat for a church.

"Now that all these blocks are being demolished, we appeal to you to get a church building constructed along with the construction of a temple and mosque which you have promised. This gesture will go a long way to prove the secular credentials of your government and your personal secular convictions which you have credibly vindicated in the last six years of your able leadership," it added.