Can't give assurance on temple, mosque: Minister

Hyderabad: The state government has expressed its inability to give any assurance on whether it would retain the temple and mosque in the present secretariat complex or not.

When asked during the Question Hour in the Assembly, Roads and Buildings Minister V Prashanth Reddy said he is helpless and cannot give details pertaining to the construction of new secretariat as the matter is sub judice.

It may be mentioned here that a mosque and temple exist in the secretariat complex and both these structures came up during the earlier regimes. Now that the government wants to construct an iconic secretariat complex, questions have arisen over the existence of these two religious structures. The question was raised by MIM member Md Moazam Khan and others.

The minister said the government had formed a Cabinet sub-committee to suggest where and how the new secretariat should be constructed. A technical committee was formed which has submitted its report to the government.

The report, he said, was under the consideration of the government. According to sources, the government is unlikely to table the report in the Assembly during the ongoing session.

Moazam Khan said, "Places of worship like mosques and temples cannot be relocated and people should not be stopped in the name of construction. They should be allowed to offer prayers."

The MIM leader wanted the minister to give assurance that the mosque and the temple in the existing secretariat will not be touched. "It is good that the government is constructing a new secretariat... we support and have no doubts on the intensions of the government but just give us an assurance that the places of worship will not be demolished," he said. But all that the minister could say was that he would take the issue to the government's notice.