Ram temple not poll issue for BJP, says Prakash Javadekar

Union Minister Javadekar also accused the Congress of defaming Rajasthan

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said that the Ram temple was never a poll issue for the saffron party as he asked the Congress to clarify its stand on the matter.

Highlighting Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's remarks that no good Hindu would want the Ram temple at the site of a demolished mosque, Javadekar asked whether the Congress wanted a temple in Ayodhya or not. Ram temple is not a poll issue for us but a "matter of belief", the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) poll in-charge for Rajasthan told reporters here.

The struggle for the temple has been going on for 500 years when there were no elections, he added. "This is an issue (concerning) the country," he said further. "BJP is not making Ram temple an election issue but raising a question on the statements of Congress (leaders). Does the party want a temple at the birthplace of lord Ram in Ayodhya or not?" he said.

Javadekar also accused the Congress leaders of defaming Rajasthan, where assembly elections will be held on December 7. He claimed that the state had progressed in several sectors under the incumbent BJP regime.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever