UP Deputy CM slammed for temple statement

Lucknow: Well known Sunni cleric and member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB),  Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, has slammed UP deputy chief minister Keshav Maurya who had said to a news channel that the BJP would have brought a bill for construction of Ram temple in Parliament if it had adequate numbers in the Rajya Sabha.

“Mr Maurya is deputy chief minister and he should speak with caution. The matter is in court and he is talking of bringing a bill for Ram temple construction. This clearly indicates that the BJP is not interested in waiting for the Supreme Court verdict”, he told reporters on Monday.

The cleric said that the Ayodhya issue was being deliberately raised for elections. “Political parties must stop raking up this issue since it is in the Supreme Court and every citizen must wait for the court to give its verdict which should be respected by all,” he said.

Mr Maurya, on Sunday, had told a news channel the Ayodhya matter was pending in court and all parties would wait for the verdict.

“However, we would have brought a bill in this regard if we had the numbers in Rajya Sabha,” the deputy CM had said. and added that millions of Hindus are waiting to see the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya since the matter concerns the faith of the majority.

He further said that the construction of the Ram temple would be an apt tribute to VHP leader, late Ashok Singhal, late Mahant Ram Chandra Paramhans and those ‘kar sevaks’ who had lost their lives in the movement.