Want Ram temple, not a lollipop like museum: Vinay Katiyar

BJP Member of Parliament (MP) Vinay Katiyar on Tuesday hit out at his own party’s Ramayana Museum project in Ayodhya and termed it a ‘lollipop’.

“We need to start construction of the temple and ‘lollipops’ like a Ramayana Museum will not serve the purpose. The Ram temple is not a poll issue but it concerns the sentiments of millions of Hindus across the globe. We are a majority government and it is time we took up the issue,” he told reporters.

The BJP leader said that efforts should be made to build a Ram temple, and other related projects will not serve the purpose.

Mr Katiyar said, “Wherever I go in Ayodhya, saints ask me when will Ram Mandir be built and I have no reply. It is good I did not go there today”.

Mr Katiyar went on to demand the tabling of a legislation in the Lok Sabha where the BJP-led NDA has a “massive majority”.

Replying to a question, he said, “Why only Subramanian Swamy, every devotee of Ram wants the temple to be constructed. Until that happens, we can’t live in peace. Be it through a bill in Parliament, through dialogue or a court verdict, the government has to find a solution”.

Mr Vinay Katiyar, known to be a Hindu hardliner, was at the forefront of the Ram temple movement in the nineties. No politics in trip to Ayodhya: Mahesh Union tourism minister Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday said his visit to Ayodhya should not be linked to Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. “I am here as a minister for tourism and we are making efforts to improve tourism in Ayodhya. There is no politics in my visit and enhancement of tourism is a part of the Modi government’s development agenda,” he told reporters.