Rahul is devotee of Babar and Khilji's kin: BJP

The BJP on Wednesday accused Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi of siding with "Owaisis and Jilanis" to oppose Ram temple in Ayodhya, and called the Congress leader a "devotee" of first Mughal emperor Babar and a "kin" of Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khilji.

"Rahul Gandhi has teamed up with Owaisis, Jilanis to oppose Ram temple in Ayodhya. Rahul Gandhi is certainly a "Babar Bhakt" and a "Kin of Khilji". Babar is said to have destroyed the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the 13th century Khilji ruler plundered the Somnath temple.

"Nehru dynasty sided with both Islamic invaders. Travesty and perversity of dynasty!" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said in a tweet.

The BJP leader's remarks came a day after Congress leader Kapil Sibal as lawyer for the Sunni Waqf Board urged the Supreme Court to defer hearing in the Ayodhya title suit till July 2019 when the next Lok Sabha elections will be over.

The demand was brushed aside by the court as it fixed February 8, 2018 for commencing final hearing in the case.

Zafaryab Jilani is convenor of the Babri Masjid Action Committee.

On Tuesday, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen President Asaduddin Owaisi said the Sangh Parivar wants to use the Ram temple issue to save Narendra Modi in the 2019 general elections as "he has failed on all fronts".

BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday also latched on to senior Sibal's statement in the Supreme Court for deferring hearing in the Ramjanambhoomi dispute till after the 2019 polls and asked Gandhi to clear the Congress' stand on the temple issue.

--IANS

aks/in/rn