Cong delayed construction, but Modi Govt sped it up: HM
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday declared that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya will be ready by January 1 next year.
Addressing a public rally here in poll-bound Tripura, Shah held the Congress responsible for delaying the construction of the Ram temple through a series of unending litigations and hailed the Modi Government for clearing the deck for its construction.
“Congress dragged the issue for years...from one court to another...from session court to high court, then to Supreme Court...then back to the session court,” Shah said, adding, “But Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfilled the aspiration of the people by laying foundation for the temple after apex court settled the dispute.”
Taunting Rahul Gandhi for his oft-repeated jibe that the BJP raised the slogans that “mandir wahi banayege but date nahi batayege,” Shah said, “Rahul Baba, listen from Sabroom, that a mammoth Ram Mandir will be ready on January 1, 2024.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the “Bhoomi puja” for the construction of the temple on August 5, 2020. At Sabroom in South Tripura district, Shah flagged off a BJP rath yatra, the second one during the day after Dharmanagar in North Tripura district, aimed at highlighting the State Government’s achievements ahead of the Assembly elections due early this year.
The BJP is facing a serious challenge in Tripura in the run-up to the polls as a score of MLAs have quit the saffron outfit. The BJP is also wary of the rise of the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA Motha) which may impact the outcome in 20 tribal-dominated seats in Tripura.
Reacting to Shah's announcement, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury termed it as the roll-out of the “election slogan for 2024.”
The Trinamool Congress which too is trying to get a foothold in Tripura as well as other North-Eastern States, said the BJP should not try to claim political mileage out of the temple's construction.
Asserting that the country was safe in the hands of Modi, the Union Home Minister said, “Ten days after the Pulwama incident in Kashmir, Indian soldiers went inside Pakistan and carried out a successful operation under Modi’s leadership.”