Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday said no matter how hard the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tries, it can never have a monopoly over Lord Ram or any religion as Lord Ram belongs to everyone.
Pilot, while speaking to PTI, said, “The Ram temple was constructed after the Supreme Court gave its final verdict which was acceptable to all parties. Now the truth is that it was the Supreme Court that decided what would happen. We in the Congress welcomed that as did everybody else… that laid to rest all disputes and contentions.”
So the construction of the temple did not happen because of a party or a government but because of the court’s final judgment, which was acceptable and appreciated by all, he stressed.
“… We all welcomed the construction of the temple, who can be against it? But to use that platform, that judgment and that construction as a political ploy to kind of harness the political dividends that come out of this emotional issue is wrong because the state and religion are two separate entities,” the Congress leader said.
“Lord Ram belongs to everyone” and “an attempt to try and limit him to a party or a government is in itself a futile exercise”, he observed.
Speaking about the sentiment that the Ram temple wave will help the BJP win a sweeping majority in North India, the Congress general secretary and former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan said, “I think this election will be fought on issues that are extremely relevant to our present and our future. Recent efforts to systematically undermine constitutional institutions will be one such issue. We want to bring to the fore the problems faced by the youth, women, and farmers, we want to give legal guarantee for MSP, these are the things that matter to the average voter.”
Pilot said he does not think the Indian voter appreciates an election agenda based on religion, Hindu-Muslim and Mandir-Masjid issues, and underscored that polls should be fought on economic policy, job creation, reducing inflation and securing a better future for farmers.
(With PTI inputs)
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Published: 02 Apr 2024, 06:35 PM IST
