The government has set an 11-month deadline for the new secretariat building to be completed from the time construction started on the site. On Friday, the minister informed the assembly that the government intends to begin construction on the temple, mosque, and church on the same day.
A TRS leader said, “The one muhurat decision is in line with the government’s secular stand.”
K Chandrasekhar Rao, the chief minister, has already directed that the plot area for the temple be increased from 300-odd square yards to 1,500 square yards, and that the plot area for the mosque be increased from 433 square yards to 1,500 square yards. In 500 square yards, the church will be built.
During the GHMC election campaign, the CM and ministers repeatedly stated that the TRS government adheres to secular ideology, while criticising the BJP for attempting to polarise voters.
Since auspicious days are ahead, Prashanth Reddy said a muhurat would be set for the foundation laying of three places of worship. He said, “We will try to lay the foundation stones for all religious institutions before Ramzan.” During question time, he was responding to AIMIM legislators who urged the government to lay the foundation for the two mosques before the fasting month of Ramza began.
Pasha Quadri and Moazzam Khan, a party MLA, have urged the government to set a date for the foundation laying ceremony. The AIMIM has already submitted proposals for the two mosques to the government. Due to the poll code, the foundation ceremony for the mosques, which was scheduled for February 24, was postponed, according to Quadri.
The mosque plans have been submitted to the Telangana State Waqf Board, while the temple plans have been submitted to the endowments department, according to the minister. “The best of the plans will be finalised,” he said, but he gave no guarantee that the AIMIM’s plans would be finalised. “If appropriate, the government will convene a meeting with Muslim religious scholars and AIMIM MLAs to choose the best candidates,” the minister said.
