BJP, RSS dusting out Ram temple issue prior to elections: Congress

The Congress Party on Thursday alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would dust out the Ram temple and hold it up to the people as a promise for they have been doing the same since 1985.

Congress leader Manish Tewari, who was reacting to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's recent remark on the construction of the Ram temple, accused the right wing organisation of attempting to change the fundamental narrative of this country.

"And the BJP keeps dragging out the Ram Mandir issue whenever any elections are on the angle. Now, that we have elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and some other states coming up," Tewari told the media here.

Another Congress leader Sandeep Dixit also criticised Bhagwat's statement, saying that both BJP and the RSS were trying to prop up an inconclusive debate and using it for political gains.

"This is something which the RSS and the BJP keeps propping every time the elections come. They have used the issue of the Ram Mandir to push themselves electorally. From two seats to 200 seats, it is only because of their politicising the Ram Mandir and Babri Masjid movement," he said.

Bhagwat had on Wednesday said he hopes that the proposed Ram temple will be built at Ayodhya in his lifetime.

"The temple will be built within my lifetime.May be, we will see it with our own eyes. None can say when and how the temple will be constructed, but we need to be prepared and ready," Bhagwat said while addressing a programme in Kolkata to pay tributes to brothers Ram Kothari and Sharad Kothari who were killed in police firing while performing the kar seva at Ayodhya in 1990.

"We need to plan it carefully. A good mix of 'josh' (passion) and 'hosh' (sanity) is needed to complete the work which Ram and Sharad had initiated," he added.