Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday stirred the political cauldron by saying the BJP is preparing to build a temple in Mathura.
"The construction of grand temples is on in Ayodhya and Kashi, and preparations are on for one in Mathura (Ayodhya Kashi bhavya mandir nirmaan jaari hai Mathura kee tyaari hai)," Maurya said in a tweet he posted in Hindi.
Mathura is considered to be the birthplace of Lord Shri Krishna.
The senior BJP leader is likely to have made the comment ahead of the UP Assembly election to rally the BJP support base in state.
The supposed temple site, which is a subject of multiple lawsuits, is located inside an old mosque in Mathura and shares its premises with a prominent temple.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the comment shows BJP is sensing defeat.
"This (Maurya's tweet) indicates that the BJP has sensed a sure defeat in the upcoming UP Assembly elections," he said to a news channel.
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