Days after the Uttar Pradesh administration started crackdown on the Hindu Mahasabha's controversial plans to install the statue of Nathuram Godse, the Hindutva outfit has approached the State's Urban Development Minister Azam Khan to give permission to go ahead with the proposal.
The outfit had last month announced to build a Godse temple on January 30, the day Gandhi was shot dead by Godse.
Alleging that the State BJP chief Lakshmi Kant Vajpayee who is also an MLA from Meerut had "waged" a campaign against the outfit the Hindutva group has requested Mr. Khan to "rescue" it from "harassment and witch hunting" by the State BJP leadership.
It comes days after the State police recommended that the Hindu Mahasabha's Meerut office be sealed for "encroaching" on the land of a temple trust and building its office on the encroached land.
Hindu Mahasbha approaching Azam Khan comes as a surprise because the Right wing groups have popularly been criticising the SP minister for being "anti-Hindu".
Senior functionary of the outfit Pandit Ashok Kumar Sharma told The Hindu that he had written a letter to the UP minister to give permission to the group to build a Godse temple in Meerut and install his statues across a the State. He also expressed hope that Mr. Khan would "listen" to his request.
"We have requested Mr. Khan to allow us the permission to install Godse statue in the premise of our office and at different places across the State. Lakshmikant Vajpayee doesn't want his own past association with Hindu Mahasbha to come out in public and that is why he has got the Meerut police to harass us on daily basis," he said.
The announcement of the Hindutva group to install Godse statue in the premise of its office, had provoked strong reactions from the Opposition parties which demanded that the Modi government rein in the right wing fringe elements.
The Rightwing group had last month performed 'bhumi pujan' for the Godse temple in its office premise after which the city police had booked its leaders for disturbing law and order.
The police is also considering imposing section 144 in the area housing the outfit's office in the city.
The group has bought a piece of land in Sidhhauli Para village in Sitapur district to build a Godse temple on January 30.
