In an attempt to appease Muslims, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is known for its Muslim appeasement view, has sparked another controversy. RJD leader Jagadanand Singh said that the Ram temple in Ayodhya was being built on ‘nafrat ki zameen’ –land of hatred.
“Ram temple is being built on the land of hatred. Ram cannot be imprisoned in a magnificent palace…We are the people who believe in ‘Hey Ram’ and not ‘Jai Shri Ram’,” reported ANI as the Bihar RJD leader saying.
RJD leader’s statement came days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Ram Mandir would be ready for inauguration on January 1, 2024.
Reacting to the RJD leader’s comments on Ram Mandir, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla hit back and said that this was not a ‘Sanyog’ (co-incidence) but a usage of vote banks. When the PFI was banned, at that time too, he abused and insulted Hindus. Therefore, action must be taken against him, he added.
Notably, Lalu Yadav and his party since the beginning have taken a stand against the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. This was under Lalu Yadav-led Bihar Government when Ram Mandir’s Rath Yatra by BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani was stopped in Bihar in 1990.
Importantly, in November 2019, the final judgement in the Ayodhya dispute was declared by the Supreme Court of India. The Court ordered the disputed land to be handed over to a trust to build the Ram temple.
In August 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for Ram Temple. The temple structure is being built over 10 acres of land and around four lakh cubic feet of stone and marble from Rajasthan is being used in the construction which will be 235 feet wide, 360 feet long and 161 feet high and it will be completed by December 2023.
