Those who turned down Ram temple invitation will be rejected by voters: PM

Sirsi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that those who turned down the invitation for the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be rejected by the people in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. He was apparently referring to the Congress party for not attending the event.

Modi said a decision on building the Ram temple should have been taken the very next day of the country’s independence.

Targeting the Congress on the issue, he alleged that the “same forces” tried till the last minute to ensure that the Ram temple was not built and had approached the court on the last day as well.

“The Congress and its coterie tried for 70 years that the Rama temple should not be built,” the prime minister said addressing a public gathering at this taluka headquarters town in Uttara Kannada district.

The trustees of Ram temple ignored all the hurdles put by the Congress and its allies, went to their houses and invited them to attend the consecration ceremony, which was a kind gesture on their part, he said.

“They (Congress leaders) rejected the Ram temple inauguration invitation. The country will reject those who turned down the Ram temple invitation,” Modi said.

He told the crowd about another “surprising development” where the Ansari family, which had fought against Ram temple for two to three generations and wanted Babri Masjid in the same place, wholeheartedly accepted the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony.

“The Congress and its coterie rejected the invitation by the Ram temple trustees to attend the consecration. Though Muslim, the Ansari family attended the consecration of the temple and were present throughout the event. Later, they gave a small idol of Lord Ram made of wood to his (Ansari) gunman. This is the difference,” the prime minister said.

In Ayodhya, people had to wait for 500 years to see Lord Ram temple. Lakhs of people were killed, Modi said, adding, the decision to build the temple should have been taken the next day of independence.

“But they did not build the temple,” he said, targeting the Congress. “For doing such things, one requires a 56 inch chest.”

Modi underlined that the Ram temple was not built with government or taxpayers’ money, but with the money of devotees of Lord Ram.