The construction of the Modi government’s ambitious Rs 20,000-crore Central Vista redevelopment project is in full swing, despite severe criticism from the opposition and other quarters of the society. There have been a lot of questions about the amount of money being spent on a redevelopment project during a pandemic.
The project involves the demolition of several historical buildings and construction of a new Parliament, new residences for the prime minister and vice-president, and 10 new building blocks to accommodate government offices, as part of the Central Secretariat Project.
It is also being claimed by several users on social media that a mosque by the name Shahi Masjid Zabta Ganj in Rajpath Area, Central Secretariat, and a mosque within the Krishi Bhawan and Mosque within the vice-president residence will be demolished.
Delhi Based journalist Afroz Alam tagging AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan tweeted that the 100-year-old Mosque inside Krishi Bhawan is going to be Demolished and the Zabta Ganj mosque on Mansingh Road is also in danger. Can you please talk to the Waqf board about this matter? (Archive)
.@KhanAmanatullah भाई! कृषि भवन में 100 साल से भी पुरानी मस्जिद टूटने जा रही है. मानसिंह रोड पर स्थित ज़ाब्ता गंज मस्जिद भी ख़तरे में है. क्या आप बता सकते हैं कि दिल्ली वक़्फ़ बोर्ड इसको लेकर क्या कर रही है? pic.twitter.com/S9HgekAUDt
— AFROZ ALAM SAHIL (@afrozsahil) June 2, 2021
After Claim went viral, MLA Amanatullah Khan of AAP also tweeted, ” He will reach out to the Office of the Prime Minister of India and Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri that damage to the mosques will not be tolerated under any circumstances”.
#CentralVistaProject की वजह से मानसिंह रोड पर ज़ाब्ता गंज मस्जिद,वाइस प्रेसिडेंट आवास की मस्जिद और कृषि भवन की मस्जिद को नुक़सान पहुँचाया जा सकता है।इस संदर्भ में हम @PMOIndia और @HardeepSPuri जी से राब्ता करेंगें।
किसी भी हालात में इन मस्जिदों को नुकसान बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जाएगा। pic.twitter.com/h227fnZsgd— Amanatullah Khan AAP (@KhanAmanatullah) June 2, 2021
FactO Check:
We reached out to the Imam of Zabta Ganj Mosque, Md Asad Khan Falahi and he confirmed to FactO News over call that the claim is completely false and baseless. He also said that the Masjid community has not received any notice regarding demolishing or evacuating the place. He further added that he spoke to engineers and higher officials involved in the project, who have confirmed the mosque is part of the project and not going to be demolished. He also shared the below video.
We found another video of him talking to the Hindustan Live Facebook page, where he explained and showed ongoing construction work. The Imam points out the mosque from the master plan and confirms the presence of the mosque in the Central Vista project.
Milli Gazette has also confirmed that Zabta Ganj mosque is not going to be demolished. We have reached out to the Imams of other mosques and the Delhi Waqf board to get more clarification on the other 2 mosques which are also claimed to be falling under the central vista project. This article will be updated upon the response received.
Conclusion: Based on details provided by Zabta Ganj Mosque, it is evident that the mosque is part of Central Vista and will be preserved. We will update the article once we receive official confirmation from the Delhi Waqf board on the other mosques.
Correction Comment: (Please read our correction Policy here)
Updated (Paragraph 4): Delhi Based journalist Afroz Alam tagging AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan tweeted that the 100-year-old Mosque inside Krishi Bhawan is going to be Demolished and the Zabta Ganj mosque on Mansingh Road is also in danger. Can you please talk to the Waqf board about this matter?
Previous (Paragraph 4): Delhi Based journalist Afroz Alam tagging AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan tweeted that 100-year-old Zabta Ganj mosque will be demolished for the central Vista Project.