Noida (UP), Mar 9 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday accused previous governments of allotting land to their "sycophants" next to archaeologically important buildings by overlooking the law.

The prime minister, who inaugurated an archaeology institute in Greater Noida, however, did not name any particular party or specific plot of land while levelling charges during a public meeting in presence of Union Minister Mahesh Sharma and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

He said he was in Varanasi on Friday where he laid the foundation stone for the Kashi Vishwanath Temple's approach road and its beautification.

He had charged the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh with non-cooperation for the delay in beautification of his parliamentary constituency.

“Those of you who have been to Varanasi can imagine the congested lanes there, don't know what was the condition of the God there. When the people there elected me as their MP, I decided to do something there. 

“Now you go there and notice, we had acquired around 300 properties adjoining Bhole Baba (Kashi Vishwanath temple) and I was astonished because temples started emerging from inside houses during demolition work," he said.

"People had constructed walls and changed temples to their homes, made bedrooms, and even kitchens on them. Forty temples, 200 to 300-year-old, fine examples of archaeology emerged from these houses,” he told the gathering.

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