Describing Congress as the only party which had taken serious steps in the past towards construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, AICC general secretary Harish Rawat said Friday that the party will try its best to fulfill the demand if it comes to power at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls.

"My statement on Ayodhya is already in public domain. I have been saying that if elected to power at the Centre, the congress will try its best to build a Ram temple there. My stand on the issue should also be considered as the party's view," Rawat said at a press conference here.

He said even senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had acknowledged the fact during an interaction with him that it was the Congress which had made serious efforts towards construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya twice while in power.

Accusing the BJP of doing politics over the issue, he said the Centre should play the role of facilitator on the construction of a temple.

Targeting the BJP over the Pulwama terror attack, Rawat said the saffron party was giving the tag of being a nationalist only to Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was wrong.

"Why is only Prime Minister Modi being reckoned as a nationalist. I have strong objection to it. Every citizen of India is a nationalist. I am also a nationalist and so are you," he said, adding that the entire nation stands together over the martyrdom of the soldiers.

Reacting to the budget for Uttarakhand tabled by the state government, the former chief minister expressed disappointment over it saying there was nothing new in it except that some old proposals moved by his government had been incorporated into it under new names.

He said the scheme of reviving NGOs which was introduced during his tenure has been incorporated into the budget under the name of Deendayal Upadhyay.

"I want to ask how many NGOs the BJP government has revived during its tenure? which was the main objective of the scheme," he said. 
"Growth rate is racing up like the bullet train but agricultural growth rate is at its lowest which is a matter of concern," he said.&nbsp;

Describing Congress as the only party which had taken serious steps in the past towards construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, AICC general secretary Harish Rawat said Friday that the party will try its best to fulfill the demand if it comes to power at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls.

Describing Congress as the only party which had taken serious steps in the past towards construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, AICC general secretary Harish Rawat said Friday that the party will try its best to fulfill the demand if it comes to power at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls. "My statement on Ayodhya is already in public domain. I have been saying that if elected to power at the Centre, the congress will try its best to build a Ram temple there. My stand on the issue should also be considered as the party's view," Rawat said at a press conference here. He said even senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had acknowledged the fact during an interaction with him that it was the Congress which had made serious efforts towards construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya twice while in power. Accusing the BJP of doing politics over the issue, he said the Centre should play the role of facilitator on the construction of a temple. Targeting the BJP over the Pulwama terror attack, Rawat said the saffron party was giving the tag of being a nationalist only to Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was wrong. "Why is only Prime Minister Modi being reckoned as a nationalist. I have strong objection to it. Every citizen of India is a nationalist. I am also a nationalist and so are you," he said, adding that the entire nation stands together over the martyrdom of the soldiers. Reacting to the budget for Uttarakhand tabled by the state government, the former chief minister expressed disappointment over it saying there was nothing new in it except that some old proposals moved by his government had been incorporated into it under new names. He said the scheme of reviving NGOs which was introduced during his tenure has been incorporated into the budget under the name of Deendayal Upadhyay. "I want to ask how many NGOs the BJP government has revived during its tenure? which was the main objective of the scheme," he said. "Growth rate is racing up like the bullet train but agricultural growth rate is at its lowest which is a matter of concern," he said.

Cong will try to build Ram temple if elected to power: Harish Rawat

Indian tourism minister Mahesh Sharma&#39;s planned visit to the ancient city of Ayodhya in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, believed to be the birthplace of Lord Rama&nbsp;who is worshipped by Hindus, has brought the contentious issue of the construction of the Ram temple back in the political discourse. &nbsp;

Hindu and Muslim communities in the poll-bound state have long been divided over the ownership of the land, with the Wakf board (religious charity recognised by Muslim law) claiming it to be the location of the centuries-old Babri Mosque.

The minister will visit the proposed site for setting up a Ramayana museum on Tuesday&nbsp;what many say is an attempt to woo pro-Hindu&nbsp;elements ahead of the state elections. The land for the museum has been provided by the Uttar Pradesh state government.&nbsp;

Sharma sought to clarify that the construction of the museum is unrelated to the forthcoming elections&nbsp;and is intended to be part of the Ramayana circuit.&nbsp;

&quot;My visit to Ayodhya has nothing to do with assembly elections. I am visiting there as a tourism minister. It should not be linked to politics. It is part of government&#39;s effort to improve tourism in Ayodhya and all over the country. The visit is part of the government&#39;s developmental agenda,&quot; Sharma told news channel, News18.

He will also hold a meeting with the Ramayana Circuit Advisory Board to discuss routes for connecting Ramayana-related sites in Nepal and Sri Lanka with the proposed museum.

Political parties in the state, however, questioned the timing of the visit, saying it was being made for &quot;electoral benefits&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;Linking religion with politics and electoral gains by these governments is condemnable... had they really been so concerned about these issues, they would have thought about them long ago,&quot; former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party&nbsp;chief Mayawati said.&nbsp;

Congress, too, accused the Narendra Modi government of deriving political mileage out of the visit. &quot;We shouldn&#39;t be surprised. Every five years we see the same drama unfolding. Whenever polls are in the state, they talk of Ram, Ram temple, Ram sangrahalaya (museum). They repeatedly raise these issues,&quot; former union minister RPN Singh said.&nbsp;

The tourism minister&#39;s visit has once again revived the demand for construction of Ram temple&nbsp;with Bharatiya Janata Party&nbsp;hardliners pitching for it.&nbsp;

BJP leader Vinay Katiyar urged the government to take steps for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya site, emphasising that the temple had been a priority for the party.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

&nbsp;

Political parties in Uttar Pradesh say the visit to a proposed museum site for Hindu deity, Ram, is being made for 'gains' in state polls

Indian tourism minister Mahesh Sharma's planned visit to the ancient city of Ayodhya in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, believed to be the birthplace of Lord Rama who is worshipped by Hindus, has brought the contentious issue of the construction of the Ram temple back in the political discourse. Hindu and Muslim communities in the poll-bound state have long been divided over the ownership of the land, with the Wakf board (religious charity recognised by Muslim law) claiming it to be the location of the centuries-old Babri Mosque. The minister will visit the proposed site for setting up a Ramayana museum on Tuesday what many say is an attempt to woo pro-Hindu elements ahead of the state elections. The land for the museum has been provided by the Uttar Pradesh state government. Sharma sought to clarify that the construction of the museum is unrelated to the forthcoming elections and is intended to be part of the Ramayana circuit. "My visit to Ayodhya has nothing to do with assembly elections. I am visiting there as a tourism minister. It should not be linked to politics. It is part of government's effort to improve tourism in Ayodhya and all over the country. The visit is part of the government's developmental agenda," Sharma told news channel, News18. He will also hold a meeting with the Ramayana Circuit Advisory Board to discuss routes for connecting Ramayana-related sites in Nepal and Sri Lanka with the proposed museum. Political parties in the state, however, questioned the timing of the visit, saying it was being made for "electoral benefits". "Linking religion with politics and electoral gains by these governments is condemnable... had they really been so concerned about these issues, they would have thought about them long ago," former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said. Congress, too, accused the Narendra Modi government of deriving political mileage out of the visit. "We shouldn't be surprised. Every five years we see the same drama unfolding. Whenever polls are in the state, they talk of Ram, Ram temple, Ram sangrahalaya (museum). They repeatedly raise these issues," former union minister RPN Singh said. The tourism minister's visit has once again revived the demand for construction of Ram temple with Bharatiya Janata Party hardliners pitching for it. BJP leader Vinay Katiyar urged the government to take steps for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya site, emphasising that the temple had been a priority for the party. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Indian minister's visit to Ayodhya fuels Ram temple dispute

ayodhya-debate

Ayodhya Debate, News on Ayodhya Debate, stories on Ayodhya Debate, articles on Ayodhya Debate, Ayodhya Debate stories at Wion, Ayodhya Debate news, Ayodhya Debate latest news

ayodhya debate

Cong will try to build Ram temple if elected to power: Harish Rawat

Indian minister's visit to Ayodhya fuels Ram temple dispute