Sharad Pawar, president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (SP), criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday for his remarks about the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the opposition Congress party.

Addressing a campaign rally in Ambejogai, Beed district, in favour of NCP (SP) Lok Sabha candidate Bajrang Sonawane, Pawar dismissed Modi's claim that if elected, the Congress will lock the temple. Pawar questioned whether a government could close a temple funded with public funds, noting that the temple in Ayodhya was erected with donations from people all over the country, reported PTI.