Ram Mandir ‘Theft’ row | ‘Your legacy is firing on Hindus, bloodshed’: BJP chief targets Opposition

In the first remark from the BJP top leadership amid allegations of theft and embezzlement of donation at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, BJP chief Nitin Nabin assured on Sunday that the government will take action and bring in reforms while he targeted the Opposition, saying that “those who once questioned the existence of Lord Ram are today talking about aastha (faith)”.

Addressing the BJP’s Shakti Kendra Sammelan in Lucknow, Nabin tore into the Congress, SP and AAP for questioning the RSS, BJP and the VHP. “Some people still raise questions… the same people who once questioned the very existence of Lord Ram, filed affidavits in the Supreme Court calling Him imaginary, and even questioned the existence of Ram Setu. These are the same people who ordered firing on kar sevaks in Ayodhya… Today they talk about aastha (faith). Those shedding crocodile tears can never raise the issue related to the faith of Hindu religion,” he said.

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Recalling that his father went from Patna to Ayodhya as a kar sevak and was lodged in jail for two months, Nabin said, “And you question our faith? Your legacy is bloodshed and firing on Hindus while our legacy is to make sacrifices for the faith of our deities.”

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“Today we can see the struggle of the BJP, RSS and VHP people in the form of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya,” Nabin said. “Even if our blood is shed, we will not allow anyone to harm the faith linked to Lord Ram’s temple. We are prepared to make any sacrifice for it.”

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Nabin said that “anti-Hindu forces” have always insulted Hindu religion and deities, and played with sentiments of Hindus. “Today if those opponents try to take political advantage… I am telling Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Kejriwal (Arvind)… do not consider Hindu dharma so weak that they can be misled by you,” he said.