Sadhvi Rithambara criticises Waqf Board’s claim on land of Maha Kumbh

MUMBAI: Sadhvi Rithambara, founder of Param Shakti Peeth and Vatsalyagram criticised any claims made on the Maha Kumbh 2025 land on Sunday, saying that the place is a place to get ‘Dharam’ and ‘punya’ and said that all properties under the Waqf board should be transferred over to the government.

“Those who divided the country based on religion, are capturing India’s land with the conspiracy of Waqf, this conspiracy should be stopped… politics should not be played (regarding Maha Kumbh), it is a place to get ‘Dharam’ and ‘Punya’,” Rithambara said.

#WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: On All India Muslim Jamaat president Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi reportedly supporting the claim that the Maha Kumbh is being organised on Waqf land, Sadhvi Rithambara says, ” Everybody should attend the Maha Kumbh. After 12 Kumbhs, such… pic.twitter.com/GiT9iO40ZJ

— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2025

She had replied to the claim of Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, the president of All India Muslim Jamaat (AIMJ), who said earlier today that the land where preparations for Maha Kumbh 2025 are being made is Waqf’s land and that the entry of muslims is being banned. Rithambara further said that all properties of the Waqf Board should be transferred over to the government.

“Everybody should attend the Maha Kumbh. After 12 Kumbhs, such ‘Mahapurna’ Kumbh’ comes…all the properties of waqf should become that of govt,” she told ANI.

#WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: On All India Muslim Jamaat president Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi reportedly supporting the claim that the Maha Kumbh is being organised on Waqf land, Sadhvi Rithambara says, ” Those who divided the country based on religion, they are capturing… pic.twitter.com/MSXw3IsYh6

— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2025

Meanwhile, Acharya Satyendra Das, Chief Priest of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple also criticised any claim on the land, claiming that the AIMJ president ‘does not know the history of Kumbh.’

“The truth is that Prayagraj Kumbh is very ancient. Islam did not even exist back then…He doesn’t know the history of Kumbh. That is why he is saying that this is being held on Waqf land, this is not true,” the Ram Janmabhoomi chief priest told ANI.

Earlier, Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi had said in a post on X that the land where tents and shamiyanas have been put up, belongs to the Waqf. This land is about 54 bighas.

“The land where preparations are being made for Kumbh Mela belongs to Waqf – 54 bighas. Muslims showed a big heart and did not raise any objection but on the other hand, Akhada Parishad and other Babas are banning the entry of Muslims. This narrow-mindedness will have to be given up, we will have to show a big heart like Muslims,” Razvi Barelvi said in a post on X.

The Maha Kumbh, the world’s largest spiritual congregation, is being celebrated after 12 years and a huge turnout of devotees is expected in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26. To prevent mishaps, the district administration has been taking important steps to ensure the safety of the devotees, especially for crowd management and avoiding fire incidents. (ANI)