Lucknow (PTI): In an apparent reference to disputes in Varanasi and Mathura, Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said if the BJP looks for a temple in every mosque then people would start searching for a Buddhist monastery in every temple.

"BJP people under a conspiracy are raising mosque-temple issue. They are looking for a temple in every mosque. This will cost them dearly. Because if they look for a temple in every mosque then people will start searching for a Buddhist monastery in every temple," he told reporters.

The SP national general secretary claimed there are ample historical evidence that all these temples were Buddhist monasteries.

"The Badrinath and Kedarnath temples in Uttarakhand, the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the Ayyappa Temple in Kerala and the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur (Maharashtra) were Buddhist monasteries. These Buddhist monasteries were demolished and then Hindu religious shrines came up there. They were Buddhist monasteries till the eighth century," he said.

He said his intention is not to turn these temples into Buddhist monasteries "but, if you search for a temple in every mosque, then why should a Buddhist monastery not be searched for in every temple?" Reacting to statement, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary said "insulting the Sanatan Dharma again and again" has become the habit of Samajwadi Party and its leaders.

He said Maurya's remarks about "Baba Kedarnath, Baba Badrinath and Shri Jagannath Puri, the main centres of faith of Hindus, are not only controversial but also show his trivial mindset and petty politics".

He said the statement has hurt the feelings of crores of Hindus of the country and Uttar Pradesh and created hatred in the society. He said Maurya apologise for the statement. "And, Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief, should give his opinion on this subject and clarify if the Samajwadi Party agrees with it," Chaudhary tweeted.

Maurya made similar remarks on Friday, inviting strong reaction from BJP leader and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who had termed them "unfortunate" and said they reflect the "anti-national and anti-religious" thinking of the Congress and its allies.

Maurya responded to the criticism on Sunday

"I had spoken about Badrinath and Kedarnath Dhaam and had said that from the end of seventh century to the beginning of the eighth century, Badrinath was a Buddhist monastery, after which Shankaracharya had changed it and established it as a religious place for Hindus," he said.

"I would like to tell the chief minister of Uttarakhand that everyone's faith (aasthaa) is important. If you are worried about your 'aasthaa', then you should be worried about others' 'aasthaa' as well," he said.

BSP President Mayawati accused Maurya of trying to drive a wedge between communities ahead of election.

"The latest statement of Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya that many temples including Badrinath were built by demolishing Buddhist monasteries and why modern survey should be done not only of Gyanvapi Masjid but also of other major temples, is a purely political statement giving rise to new controversies," she said in a tweet in Hindi.

Mayawati also asked Maurya why he never raised such a demand when was a minister in the BJP government.

"Maurya was a minister in the BJP government for a long time, why did he not put such pressure on his party and the government in this regard? And now creating such a religious controversy at the time of elections. Buddhist and Muslim communities are not going to be misled by them," she said.

The disputes related to Varanasi's Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Masjid complex and Mathura's Krishna Janmasthan Temple-Shahi Eidgah Majisd are being heard by courts.