PTI, LUCKNOW: A director general of police rank officer in Uttar Pradesh has openly favoured the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya “at the earliest”, days after an IAS officer triggered a controversy by publicly blaming rightwing groups for communal clashes in Kasganj town. Surya Kumar Shukla, DG, Homeguard, not only participated in an event on Ram Mandir organised at the Lucknow University two days ago, but was also captured on camera taking a pledge to build the Mandir. Shukla is due to retire in August.
The matter has gained traction barely a few days after Bareilly District Magistrate Raghvendra Vikram Singh on Facebook had laid the blame at the doors of rightwing groups for the communal clashes in the western Uttar Pradesh town. Singh later deleted the comments. Today, a video of Shukla, a 1982-batch Indian Police Service officer, taking the pledge went viral on social and
electronic media.
“We Ram-bhakts, today, as part of this programme, take this pledge that at the earliest, the Ram Mandir be constructed. Jai Shri Ram,” the video showed him saying. Many other people were also seen taking the pledge with him at the event, where slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” was raised. Shukla, however, said he had done nothing wrong. “I was taking a pledge to create an atmosphere of harmony. The video that has gone viral is an edited version and portions have been deleted deliberately to create mischief,” he said.
