Mumbai: Republican Party of India (RPI) chief and Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Saturday slammed Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for planning to visit Ayodhya along with newly elected party members of Parliament (MP).
Mr Athawale said that even if the Sena chief visits Ayodhya ten times, it would not have any impact. The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be built only after the Supreme Court verdict, he stated.
The Shiv Sena chief is all set to visit Ayodhya again on June 16 to seek Lord Ram’s blessings. It will be his second visit to the temple town in Uttar Pradesh in the last seven months, and the first after the declaration of the Lok Sabha poll results.
Mr Athawale said that the tour is only for Shiv Sena MPs to visit the Uttar Pradesh city. “If the Sena chief goes to ten times to Ayodhya, it would not be useful. Everyone will have to wait until the apex court gives its verdict. After the court’s verdict, the Ram temple will be constructed,” he said.
Mr Thackeray’s visit is considered crucial ahead of the state Assembly elections in October this year.
The Sena chief had visited Ayodhya in November last year and reaffirmed his party’s commitment to constructing the Ram temple. The party had also coined the slogan ‘Pahle Mandir…Phir Sarkar’ (First the temple should be formed and then the government).
However, later it forgot this slogan and forged an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
