An Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha member Tuesday wrote a letter purportedly with his own blood to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, seeking permission to offer Janmashtami prayers inside the Shahi Masjid Idgah claiming it was the birthplace of Lord Krishna.?

ABHM national treasurer Dinesh Sharma said he wants to offer prayer to the deity with local Brijwasis on the occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami on August 19.

This comes even as multiple suits related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute are in courts with Hindu petitioners claiming the mosque is built on a plot belonging to the Katra Keshav Dev Temple and it should be removed. The Muslim side has contested this plea.?

"So for, Krishna worship is being performed at a place which is not exactly the His birthplace," Sharma has said in his letter, which he also released to the media.?The place where Kanha was born exists under the Shahi Masjid Idgah, he claimed.

Calling Adityanath an "incarnation of Hindu God Hanuman", Sharma said he was confident the Chief Minister would give him the permission to offer worship inside the mosque.?If the permission is denied, Sharma said, he should be allowed to die as it is "worthless to live a life without offering obeisance to Lord Krishna exactly at his birthplace".

A similar application submitted earlier in a court was rejected on August 3, 2022.?Sharma had on May 18 submitted an application in the court of Civil Judge (senior division) Jyoti Singh requesting the court to grant permission for performing Jalabhishek of Laddu Gopal (Baal Krishna) inside the Shahi Masjid Idgah.

(With PTI inputs)