“Ram Mandir built on contested land”: Hanumangarhi Temple pandit disputes Digvijay Singh’s claim

Hanumangarhi Mandir pandit Mahant Raju Das on January 16, rejected Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s statement that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has not been built on the “disputed” land that the Supreme Court gave to the Mandir Trust. He said that the Mandir is being constructed exactly at the place for which the Hindu organisations fought.

“They said that the Mandir is not being constructed where the court had ordered. Then where is it being constructed? Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should come and tell,” Mahant Raju Das said while talking to media.

“The Mandir is being constructed exactly at the place for which we fought,” he added. His statement came after Digvijay Singh alleged on January 16, that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vishva Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) wanted to demolish the Babri Masjid and not build a Mandir because until the mosque is demolished, the issue does not become a communal issue.

In a long post on X, Digvijay Singh said that the Congress never opposed the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya but asked to wait till the court’s decision.

“Congress never opposed the construction of RamMandir in Ayodhya. Was asked only to wait till the court’s decision for construction in the disputed land. ‘Bhoomi pujan’ on non-disputed land was also done during the time of Rajiv ji. Narasimha Rao ji had also acquired non-disputed land for the construction of Ram Mandir,” he said.

“But BJP, VHP and RSS wanted to demolish the mosque, not build a Mandir. Because until the mosque is demolished the issue does not become a Hindu-Muslim issue. Destruction is in their behaviour and character; taking political advantage by spreading unrest is their strategy. That’s why their slogan was “Ram Lalla hum aayenge, Mandir wahi Banayenge,” he added.

He further added that now why not build it (Mandir) there? When the Supreme Court gave the disputed land to the Trust? “Only Champat Rai ji of VHP or Narendra Modi ji can answer this. My sympathies are with the families of the volunteers who were martyred in the Mandir construction movement and those against whom criminal cases were filed in the court. Have they been invited? Are the people of Nirmohi Akhara, who fought for Ram Janmabhoomi for 175 years, invited? Is this Raj Dharma? Is this Ram Raj?” Digvijay Singh said on X.

Meanwhile, Sanskrit scholar Swami Rambhadracharya Maharaj on January 15, slammed the Congress Party for declining the invite for the pran pratishtha ceremony at Ram mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, saying that the grand old party is indulging in ‘murkhneeti’ not in ‘rajneeti’.

While speaking to media, Swami Rambhadracharya Maharaj also said that the Congress is doing what an ‘angry cat’ does. “It is according to the scriptures. Sanctum sanctorum is complete, and now pran pratishtha is going to take place…. what is wrong with it? It is as per the shashtras. It is ‘Murkhneeti’ not ‘rajneeti’…Khisiyani billi khamba noche (an embarrassed or ashamed person tends to vent his/her feelings by quarrelling),” he said.

(with inputs from ANI)