BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said the reconstruction and restoration of damaged temples in riot-hit Murshidabad district in West Bengal would commence on Akshaya Tritiya.
Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the assembly, said all rituals would be performed during the “purification” of such temples.
Akshaya Tritiya falls on April 30 this year.
“At present, these temples bear the marks of heinous, condemnable, and barbaric assaults by jihadis,” he claimed, adding that a “total of nine temples were attacked and damaged”.
As pledged earlier, on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, i.e. on 30th April, 2025 we will start the rebuilding and restoration process of the vandalised Hindu Temples of the Murshidabad district, which came under the heinous, reprehensible and disgraceful attack by the… pic.twitter.com/baoElPbeEI
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) April 28, 2025
He also claimed, “No financial assistance will be accepted from the Hindu-opposing Mamata Banerjee government. I reiterate that all expenses will be borne by Hindus themselves.” The “Hindus of Murshidabad cannot be deprived of their rights to worship in their village and neighbourhood temples”, Adhikari said, adding, “these places of worship are as “important as pilgrimage sites”.
Union Minister and state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar also said he would visit the damaged temples in the district.
Three people were killed in the violence that rocked several areas of Murshidabad in the second week of April during protests over the Waqf law.
Several houses and shops were ransacked, forcing many people to take shelter in relief camps in neighbouring Malda.