Mathura, Sep 28(UNI) A body of priests has condemned a civil suit filed for removal of the Shahi Eidgah Mosque near Shree Krishna Janambhoomi here saying it destroys peace and harmony.

The All India Teerth Purohit Mahasabha has condemned the people behind filing a petition in the court for the removal of the 17th century mosque.
Meanwhile, the civil suit over the Shree Krishna Janambhoomi is slated to be taken up for preliminary hearing on September 30 by the court here.
A group of lawyers had moved a civil suit in the court here for removal of a mosque claiming that it was allegedly built on orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1669-70 at the exact birthplace of Lord Sree Krishna within the 13.37-acre premises of Katra Keshav Dev temple in the holy city.
The petition also demanded the annulment of a 1968 Mathura court ruling, ratifying a land deal reached between the Shree Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan and Shahi Idgah Management Committee, perpetuating the existence of the mosque within the temple premises.
National president of the Mahasabha and senior Congress leader Mahesh Pathak said here on Monday that there is no dispute between the temple and mosque in Mathura after an agreement was reached by the two sides in the 20th century.
“In such a situation, some outsiders are trying to spoil the peace and harmony of Mathura by raising temple-mosque issue. There is harmony between the two communities and the existence of a religious site next to each other is an example of emotional solidarity,” Mr Pathak said.
The petition was filed by Lucknow resident and lawyer Ranjana Agnihotri and five others, including Delhi resident Parvesh Kumar, Rajesh Mani Tripathi of Siddharth Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Karunesh Kumar Shukla of Basti, and Shivaji Singh and Tripurari Tiwari, both of Lucknow.
Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, in a petition filed in a Mathura court on Friday said that the agreement between Shree Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan and Shahi Idgah Management Committee in 1968 is completely wrong and should be repealed.

Mr Jain said that the land on which the mosque is built is in the name of Shri Krishna Janmasthan Trust. In such a situation, the agreement made by the Seva Sangh is wrong.
"Therefore, by repealing the said agreement, a demand has been made to remove the mosque and return the temple land to it, "he said.
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