Who is Farooq Abdullah to say we don't need Ram temple? JD(U)'s Pavan Varma

Hitting out at National Conference (NC) chairman Farooq Abdullah for belittling the Ram temple construction issue, senior Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Pavan Varma on Sunday advised the former not to give homilies to Hindus.

Questioning Abdullah over his authority to decide on whether Hindus need a Ram temple or not, Varma said that the NC chairman should not draw parallel between the developmental issues of the country and Ram temple issue.

"I would strongly advise Abdullah not to give homilies to Hindus. He had said that since God is in hearts of people, why build a temple but that applies to all. What's he trying to say? That because God is in your heart, you can't build a temple? First he has equated any desire to have a temple for Ram as a neglect of other issues which are plaguing the country and has said that because of that you don't need a temple of Ram. Who is he to say that? It's not an either-or situation," Varma told ANI.

"People go as matter of their faith to worship. Governments and people have to pursue developmental agenda. No country has ever posited a situation of faith vs development. Proportion must be right but we don't want to hear this kind of advice from Abdullah," the JD-U leader added.

On Saturday, Abdullah said that the central government is fooling the people of the country by ignoring the real issues of farmers, unemployment, and Dalits, and is fighting for the Ram temple.

Speaking at an event here, Abdullah said, "Today, look at secular democratic India. You're not fighting on issues that matter to people. You're fighting for Ram. Is Ram going to come from heaven and give farmers something better? Or unemployment will disappear in a day because Ram is coming. They are fooling people.