Sakshi Maharaj calls for demolition of Delhi's Jama Masjid

New Delhi, Nov 23: In a highly controversial remark, BJP MP from Unnao, Sakshi Maharaj, on Friday called for the demolition of Jama Masjid in Delhi and said he should be hanged if idols of Hindu gods are not found there.

Further, he asserted that the BJP is clear about the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and urged Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav to make their stand clear on the issue.

"Main rajniti mein jab aya to mera pehla statement tha Mathura mein... Ayodhya, Mathura, Kashi ko choro... Delhi ki Jama Masjid toro, agar siriyon mein murtiyan na mile to mujhe fansi pe latka dena... Aj bhi main kayam hun.." (When I came to politics, my first statement was in Mathura. To leave Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi aside and demolish Jama Masjid in Delhi and if idols are now found below the staircase then I should be hanged. I still stand by this statement)," Maharaj said, as per an Indian Express report.

Sakshi Maharaj has often grabbed headlines for his controversial remarks. In July, he had said that those demanding Sharia law in India should go to Pakistan.

In January this year, the controversial leader called for implementing the Uniform Civil Code and indirectly held Muslims responsible for population explosion.

"Population is rising rapidly, and so are the country's problems. But Hindus are not responsible for this. Those who talk about four wives and forty children are responsible," Maharaj had said.

Last year, he had defended rape convict self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, describing him as a "simple person".