Ram bhakts must remove 'blot' from country's face, build Ayodhya temple: Hry Min

In a provocative remark on the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri mosque, Haryana minister Anil Vij asked Ram devotees to remove a "blot" from the country's face by building a grand temple in Ayodhya.

The Health minister in the BJP government said Mughal emperor Babar "demolished" the Ram temple and built a mosque in Ayodhya on the basis of the power he wielded and now "Ram bhakts will have to remove the blot".

"When Babar was powerful, he demolished Ram temple and built a mosque there. He did not do so in accordance with any law. When Ram bhakts became powerful, they demolished the mosque. They did half the work. The day they become more powerful, they will build a temple at the site and settle the account," Vij said in a tweet in Hindi.

Asked about his tweet on the 26th anniversary of the Babri mosque demolition, Vij repeated the remarks, asking the Ram devotees to construct a temple at the disputed cite in Ayodhya.

Vij, who has stoked controversies in the past, had asked people some days ago to clear their stand on the construction of the Ram temple.

He had said the time has now come for every individual and political parties as well as religious and social organisations to clarify their stand over the issue.

"Before the Mahabharata battle, Lord Krishna had said everyone will have to make their own choice whether they are with the Kauravas or the Pandavas," Vij said.

In June this year, Vij, the MLA from Ambala Cantonment said construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya will "help" in the development of India.

"Building Lord Shri Ram temple in the country also forms part of development, which no intellectual will deny," Vij had then said in an official release.