BJP latches on to comments, asks Rahul to clarify standPNS n
The Ram Temple issue has yet again taken the centre stage notwithstanding Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s clarification pertaining to his statement regarding its construction. The BJP on Monday latched on to his remarks that “no good Hindu would have wanted to see the Ram temple built by demolishing somebody else’s place of worship (Babri Masjid)” to accuse the Congress of using its leaders to build a momentum against its construction.
The BJP also targeted Congress president Rahul Gandhi wondering whether he was a Hindu. Tharoor’s controversial statement forced the Congress to take a defensive stand.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said he is astonished that Tharoor believes that true Hindus don’t want a Ram Temple in Ayodhya. “This could be a view of Tharoor or his party chief Rahul, not of people. This shows how cut off they are from reality and how they only become Hindu during elections,” said Javadekar.
Following the storm over his statement, Tharoor came out to clarify that his remarks on the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya were quoted out of context by the media. Tharoor asserted he never said Hindus do not want a temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
Tharoor tweeted that he made the remark at the literary festival in a personal capacity when he was asked for his opinion. He said his remark should not be seen as the Congress’s view on the matter.
“I condemn the malicious distortion of my words by some media in the service of political masters. ‘Most Hindus would want a temple at what they believe to be Ram’s birthplace. But no good Hindu would want it to be built by destroying another’s place of worship’,” he clarified in a tweet.
“I was asked for my personal opinion at a literary festival and gave it as such. I am not a spokesperson for my party and did not claim to be speaking for the Congress party,” he added.
But the BJP was unrelenting in its attack. BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said his party wants an early verdict from the Supreme Court on the Ram Temple case but the Congress is trying everything to delay it.
The BJP wants a grand Ram Temple and will wait for the court’s verdict, Rao said, asking Rahul to clear his stand. “You (Congress) are conspiring to ensure that there is no verdict from the court,” he said.
The Congress is doing “vote bank politics”, he said, alleging that Rahul had earlier claimed that his party was a “Muslim party”. Rahul wears his “Shiv bhakti” (devotion to Lord Shiv) on his sleeve but he should answer whether he is a Hindu or not, Rao said.
Taking a defensive stand, the stated that Tharoor has already clarified what he said. “I have not heard his statement.
He has clarified that whatever he said has said in his personal capacity. As far as the issue is concerned, we have a clearly stated position. We have stated that over and over again, and I state that again. This issue is in court, the court will be hearing this issue. Whatever is the verdict, everybody will have to follow the same,” Congress spokesman RPN Singh said.
At the Press conference, Rao also accused the Congress of following a double-pronged strategy of showing its love for Pakistan and “working to break India” as part of Rahul’s “divisive mindset”.
He also cited Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu’s reported comments that he can relate to Pakistan more than south India to hit out at the Opposition party.
He demanded that Sidhu must be sacked as a minister in the Punjab government in a week or the BJP would carry out protests.
It was due to support from south India that the Congress came to power, he said in a reference to its win in 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections, claiming that “otherwise Sonia Gandhi and Rahul would have fled to Italy”.
