Mumbai: The Shiv Sena Thursday attacked its senior ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), over the Ayodhya issue, saying the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site has become another ‘jumla’ (rhetoric) for the party and it would lead to their ouster from power.
“Now there is internal pressure on the BJP for the Ram temple. A few MPs asked for the construction of the temple, but home minister Rajnath Singh has asked them to be patient. (Union minister) Nitin Gadkari said there must be a consensus. Ram has been waiting in a tent for 25 years and we are enjoying power. This must come to an end,” said the Saamana editorial.
“In a meeting, one MP asked tough questions. He asked till when should we be patient. He is right. RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) chief Mohan Bhagwat said that people who live for religion live for the country. But we want to ask him if the government installed in Delhi by him is really living for religion? He should answer this,” it read.
The Shiv Sena has advised the government to issue an ordinance on the Ram temple issue. Taunting the government, it said, “You can’t issue an ordinance. You have even failed to remove the cases against people who were leading an agitation to get the Babri mosque demolished. Now (senior BJP leader) Lal Krishna Advani won’t be president. At least you can remove the cases against him,” the editorial read.
