Opposition slam Shiv Sena's Ram Mandir obsession'

Mumbai: Opposition parties have slammed the Shiv Sena for raising the Ram Mandir issue despite the severe drought and other issues plaguing Maharashtra. Taunting the Sena, Congress leaders said that the resignation letters of Sena ministers in the state Cabinet were immersed in Ayodhya’s Sarayu. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray returned to Mumbai on Sunday after his one-and-a-half-day Ayodhya tour.   

Mr Thackeray and his party men performed aarti and puja at the Sarayu on Saturday evening. This tour was in making for almost three months. The Shiv Sena put up a show of strength in the Uttar Pradesh during this rally.

“The Sena has said that its ministers would resign if the people didn’t get good governance. Four years are passed now, but Sena ministers are glued to their seats. In this tour, they immersed their resignation letters in the Sarayu,” said Opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil.

Nationalist Congress Party state chief Jayant Patil asked Sena leaders to focus on real issues rather than emotional ones. “Both ruling parties have failed to give good governance. There are a number of burning issues such as unemployment and the agricultural crisis. But the ruling parties do not want to talk on them. They are trying to fool the people," said Mr Vikhe-Patil.

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam asked the Sena chief to declare the date when he would quit the government. “You ask the BJP the date when the Ram Temple would be built. Now the people asking you, Mr Thackeray, when will you keep your word and pull out from the government,” asked Mr Nirupam.