Shiv Sena slams shah over ram temple

Mumbai: Two days after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat pit-ched for early construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Shiv Sena on Friday acknowledged his commitment but questioned that of “politicians” towards the cause.

Attacking Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said, “He speaks with confidence about the BJP ruling the country for 50 years, but refrains from commenting on the issues of scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir and the Ram temple. The BJP’s ally, in the editorial of its mouthpiece Saamana, asked the Narendra Modi government to take “seriously” the issue of constructing Ram temple in Ayodhya after Mr Bhagwat’s comments. Mr Thackeray, however, opined that the temple issue has been reduced only to a poll promise and, therefore, has become a topic for ridiculing Hindutva. Mr Bhag-wat, speaking at an RSS event on Wednesday in New Delhi, pitched for the early construction of Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya. “Ram Mandir should be built at the earliest,” he had said.

“Shah speaks with a lot of confidence about the BJP ruling the country for 50 years. But refrains from commenting on repealing Article 370 or committing a deadline for the construction of the temple,” the editorial read.