BJP didn’t try to score political points over Ram Mandir: Nadda

“We have not tried to score political points over this. When we were just two in Parliament (1984), we were struggling for Ram and when we are 300, we are still struggling for Ram. Not a single political statement was made by the BJP during the consecration ceremony. It was our conviction, our commitment, which we tried to fulfil,” Nadda said while participating in a short-duration discussion on Ram Temple.

The House later adopted a resolution hailing the consecration of Ram Temple on January 22.

“People said we have made it a BJP event. I am the BJP president, but I was not there. It was the Nyas which invited the PM. How is it a BJP event? But if some people’s conscience is gnawing at them for having refused to join the ceremony, I can’t do anything about it,” Nadda said.

According to Nadda, Under PM Modi, the government was trying to realise Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Ram Rajya.

“The poor, the oppressed, the deprived, women, youth and farmers have all been empowered by the policies of PM Modi. We have tried to bring together all castes, not break them. Is Ujjwala Yojana or Saubhagya Yojana targeting a specific community? Do the 80 crore beneficiaries of PM Jan Kalyan Anna Yojana belong to a specific community or caste? This is how PM Modi has realised the imagination of Ram Rajya,” Nadda said.

He said Article 370 and triple talaq decisions were an example of Ram Rajya. BJP leader of the House Piyush Goyal gave the credit of the building of the Ram Temple to PM Modi.

“Decades ago, Modi-ji had taken a pledge that Ram Temple would be built on the Ram Janmabhoomi. He turned that pledge into a reality,” Goyal said.

According to Goyal, in the 1970s, when people were not even aware of the issue, Modi had started spreading awareness on the matter.

“The speeches he made on Ramjanmabhoomi became so popular that audio cassettes had to be made. For public awareness, he went door to door. He also guided the shila poojan at Ramjanmabhoomi in 1989. The PM would get so emotional seeing Lord Ram in a tent that he said he would return to Ayodhya only after the construction of the temple began,” Goyal said.

He said the Ram Temple was a symbol of obliterating the history of slavery and that it will also promote India’s economic development.

The Congress criticised the BJP for staking claim on Lord Ram.

“I respect the decision of the Supreme Court that cleared the way for the Ram Temple to be built. It was because of the court that this matter was resolved or else many people wanted this issue to remain alive so that they could keep coming back to power. I say this with confidence that this temple has been built because of court orders,” Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said.

“I am a proud Hindu, Sanatani and a Brahmin. But I am one who has faith in Ram, who worships him, who tries to walk on his principles. I am not a trader engaged in trading Ram. This country, where 140 crore people have welcomed it… every caste, every community has sacrificed… it does not include those who were busy flattering the British and providing them information. The true worshipper of Ram was Mahatma Gandhi. And who worships the killer of the greatest worshipper of Ram, everybody knows it,” Tiwari said.

He also raised objections to PM Modi holding the consecration ceremony in an “incomplete temple”. He said the ceremony should have been conducted by priests.

“If the temple had to be consecrated, it should have been done by priests. The shilanyas pooja was done by Dixit-ji because only he was there with his wife. Even when Ram did a yajna, he got a statue of Sita built and kept it by his side. We kept looking for Sita, but we didn’t find her,” he said.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said that violence in the name of Ram was way to hell.

“We respect the SC order. But know that Ram is love, tolerance, compassion, justice and an ideal. Ram cannot be a matter of party politics. It is a sin to use the name of Ram for politics. To spread hate in his name is a greater sin. And violence in His name is the way to hell,” he said.

Surjewala said Ram was called Maryada Purushottam because it is the idea of a ruler respecting boundaries and being accountable to the people.

“Does the current regime follow these principles? Isn’t dissent suppressed? Hasn’t questioning the government become the road to jail. Doesn’t one become a victim of the wrath of ED, CBI and IT department? In Ram Rajya, institutions were not misused and people lived in perfect harmony. Can the current regime claim this?,” he said.

K Keshav Rao of the BRS said by holding a short duration discussion the ruling party had unnecessarily made the issue political.

“Everybody has Ram in his heart. Everybody had him in their hearts before January 22 also. How is this a matter of ‘urgent public importance’? To bring controversy over Ram? Ram is not a subject of Hindu vs Muslim. It is a subject of Hindu vs Hindu. I am not allowed into your houses. None of you allow me to touch your food or water. As a child I was not allowed to touch scriptures. But I am a great devotee,” he said.