Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be invited to lay the foundation stone for various public facilities at a mosque to be built in Ayodhya’s Dhannipur village by a trust formed by the state Sunni Central Waqf Board, one of its officebearers said on Saturday.
“On the five-acre land in Dhannipur village, which has been given for the construction of a mosque on the Supreme Court’s directive, a hospital, a library, a community kitchen and a research centre will also be built. These will be for the public and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be invited to lay the foundation stone for these projects,” secretary and spokesperson of the trust — Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) — Athar Hussain told PTI.
He said the chief minister will not only participate in the programme, but will also assist in the construction of these public facilities. To a question on whether Adityanath will lay the foundation stone for the construction of the mosque, Hussain said according to the four schools of thought in Islam — Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi and Maliki — there is no provision for laying the foundation stone for a mosque.
Asked whether the mosque will be named as “Babri Masjid”, Hussain said, “There is no such thinking. The name is yet to be finalised.” “Barring the Masjid-e-Nabwi (Madina in Saudi Arabia) and a few other mosques, the names of other mosques do not matter. In the eyes of Allah, the ‘sajda’ done at the mosques is important, everything else is meaningless,” he added.
The trust constituted by the Uttar Pradesh State Sunni Central Waqf Board to construct the mosque is in the process of setting up an office in the state capital, which will be functional in 10-12 days.
“The trust has been formed. In accordance with rules, we have applied for a PAN card in its name and awaiting its delivery, after which we will meet online and pass a resolution for opening a bank account. We met online last month. As of now, we have identified an office space and renovation work is going on there. It will take 10-12 days for the work to be completed, after which the office will be functional,” he said.
The state government has allotted a five-acre land in Dhannipur for the construction of the mosque. The IICF will oversee the construction of the mosque, the Indo-Islamic research centre, the library and the hospital on the land.
A member of the trust said, “Ayodhya District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha has formally handed over the possession of the land for the mosque to the trust members. We have got a certified copy of the revenue record.” (PTI)
