Mumbai, Jan 4 (NIE): Rejecting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s contention that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his latest interview answered questions that citizens had on their minds, the Shiv Sena on Thursday asked when would the Ram temple be built if not when the Modi government has a clear majority in the Parliament.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said the demand was that Modi should conduct a press conference and answer questions. This comes after the Prime Minister, in an interview to a news agency on Tuesday, had said that any government action on the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya can happen only after the judicial process is over.
“It is being said that the Prime Minister answered questions that people had. This is wrong,” said the editorial.
On Modi speaking on Ram temple, demonetisation, the Lok Sabha election and other subjects in the interview, the editorial said: “Did people get answers to their questions? It was expected that Narendra Modi will make an important announcement to end Lord Ram’s exile. But he has refused to promulgate an ordinance for a Ram temple… If the Ram temple is not built when Modi has a government with majority, then when will it happen?”
“If the Ram temple is not built in 2019, then it will be cheating the country. The BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha will have to apologise to the country,” said the Sena, adding that it has become clear that the Ram temple promise was a jumla that will be repeated in the next election as well.
“He (Modi) came to power in the name of Ram, however, according to him, Lord Ram is not bigger than law…,” the editorial said.
The agitation for the Ram temple began in 1991-92 and hundreds of ‘kar sevaks’ lost their lives, it noted.
“Who did this massacre and why? While hundreds of Hindu kar sevaks died, the subsequent (Mumbai) bomb blasts led to the killing of hundreds of people from both sides (Hindu and Muslim communities). If the Supreme Court had to take the decision, why this massacre and bloodshed?” it asked.
“The way the Congress had to apologise for the massacre of Sikhs (after the anti-Sikh riots in 1984), we have to understand the sentiments of those who demand an apology (from the BJP) for the massacre of Hindus,” the Sena said.
The editorial noted that Modi appeared defensive in the interview.
“The anxiety of 2019 was evident on his face and in body language. It is the truth,” it added.
The editorial further said that Modi had promised to bring back black money from foreign countries and deposit Rs 15 lakh in people’s bank accounts in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.