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Mosque Is Not A Religious Place, Can Be Demolished: Subramanian Swamy

Mosque Is Not A Religious Place: Subramanian Swamy
NEW DELHI, INDIA - JULY 11: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy talks to media after attending parliament budget session 2014 at Parliament House on July 11, 2014 in New Delhi, India. Arun Jaitleys budget clearly brings out the fact that India's economy needs an overhaul after sputtering over haywire prices, low investment and a precarious fiscal situation. Indian economy is expected to grow between 5.4 percent and 5.9 percent in the current fiscal year. (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
NEW DELHI, INDIA - JULY 11: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy talks to media after attending parliament budget session 2014 at Parliament House on July 11, 2014 in New Delhi, India. Arun Jaitleys budget clearly brings out the fact that India's economy needs an overhaul after sputtering over haywire prices, low investment and a precarious fiscal situation. Indian economy is expected to grow between 5.4 percent and 5.9 percent in the current fiscal year. (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Speaking at a function in Guwahati on Friday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy said that a mosque is not a religious place but a building that can be demolished anytime. A complaint under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) has been filed against the Supreme Court lawyer.

Hindustan Times reported that Swamy repeated the same on Saturday at another function in Guwahati. "A mosque is not a religious place. It is just a building. It can be demolished any time. If anyone disagrees with me on this, I am ready to have a debate on the issue. I got this information from people of Saudi Arabia," he said.

Swamy's remarks sparked protests in Assam.

"Mosques are demolished periodically everywhere in the world. Even during the British era, mosques were demolished in India," he said, IBN-Live reported.

Swamy has received brickbats from all political fronts including his own party. "It is a ploy to grab the headlines," said Siddhartha Bhattacharjee, Assam's BJP president. "Every time he comes to the state, he makes such statements only to be in the news. I am sending video clippings of his statements to our national leadership. Whatever he said are his personal views."

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that Swamy was trying to create communal tensions before the state assembly elections. "BJP will have to pay a heavy price for hurting Assamese sentiments," he said.

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