VIJAYAWADA: Vijayawada West TD MLA Jaleel Khan, who has been waiting for a berth in the Cabinet, has landed himself in a controversy for his reportedly insulting comments against sadhus and sants. His hate-filled words, after the partial demolition of Syed Ali Hussain Shah dargah near Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada city have become the cause of a major headache for TD now. He apparently told officials on the phone after the demolition that his community was not helpless like the sadhus and sants, sitting outside a demolished temple. A video of this episode, recorded on a mobile phone, has gone viral on social media, leaving the MLA and the TD red in the face.
Mr Jaleel Khan clarified that he had said nothing about sadhus and sants, and that it was a coinage of the opposition's. “I am a people's representative," he stated, adding that he had gone to the demolition site to examine the facts. "I have not uttered a single word against anybody," he reiterated. According to him, former MLA Vellampalli Srinivas and some sadhus had threatened the officials and government that they would demolish the places of worship of other faiths if the government did not stop demolishing temples.
The partial demolition of Syed Ali Hussain Shah dargah near Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada two weeks ago had had a large number of Muslims and Wakf board officials protest against district collector A. Babu outside the structure. They alleged that his 'unilateral decision' to raze down the 400-year-old religious monument had hurt the religious sentiments of the minorities. Citing this as an example, Mr Jaleel Khan said that he urged the officials to sensitise people in and around the dargah and other places of worship before going in for road widening work.
Ahley Sunnatuwal Jamaat Forum (ASJF) forum co-convener Moulana Mohammed Altaf Ali Raza said he had not seen the video on social media, but such comments against any religion were insupportable. The demolition of religious structures for widening of roads is on in the city.
