BJP raised Ram Mandir issue to garner votes in UP polls: Tariq Anwar

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the Ram Temple issue to siphon off a victory in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls, Nationalist Congress Party general secretary Tariq Anwar on Wednesday said the BJP has taken up the Ram temple issue because they have no other issues to talk about.

"This is not the first time that the BJP is doing this. Since 1990, whenever there wrere elections, the issue of Ram Mandir had been raised to create religious polarisation so that they can garner maximum votes. Sometimes, the BJP succeeded too," said Anwar.

"The performance of 2.5 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been zero. Whatever issues he had raised in 2014, they still exist. He cannot come forward with any of these issues and that is why he has come up with this. There is no other alternative to the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, but to raise the issue of Ram Mandir and win the Uttar Pradesh elections on the basis of this," he added.

As Modi raised a religious cry and chanted Jai Sri Ram at the Aishbag Ramleela ground in Lucknow last week, opposition cried foul and said that Modi tried to hijack a religious event to serve his party's "political ends" ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections.

Modi's mention of Ram on Dussehra was a shot in the arm for all the party workers, including Sangh workers, who have been waiting for the construction of the famed Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The creation of a Ram temple at the 'janmabhoomi' has been BJP's dream plan since the party took shape as a political party in 1980.

As campaigning has started gain momentum in Uttar Pradesh, the state BJP leaders believe the time is ideal for Modi to announce building the temple. "For how long will Ram Lalla be covered with tarpaulin?" Vinay Katiyar, founder-president of Bajrang Dal and a pro-temple voice asked.

Even though the issue remains sub-judice in Supreme Court, BJP leaders think the central leadership should at least let the people know that a temple construction is in the offing.