‘Is Mohan Bhagwat the Chief Justice of India,’ Owaisi hits out at RSS chief over Ram temple remark 

AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Taking strong exception to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement that only a temple would be built on the disputed site at Ayodhya, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday called upon the right-wing outfits to explain the rationale behind making such statements.

He also wondered how they could make such a statement when the Ayodhya title suit was still pending before the Supreme Court.

“On what basis is RSS Chief saying nothing but Ram Temple will be built there. Is he Chief Justice or does he know what would the decision be? On what basis VHP’s Surinder Jain said construction will begin on 18th Oct 2018? Do they have some inside information?, Owaisi asked.

The Supreme Court will begin final hearings in the Ayodhya title suit case starting December 5.

Last month, Bhagwat made a strong pitch for building the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, saying only the mandir would come up there and not any other structure. “We will construct it. It is not a populist declaration but a matter of our faith. It will not change,” Bhagwat said while addressing the ‘Dharma Sansad’, a congregation of 2,000 Hindu saints, in Karnataka. “Ram Mandir only will be constructed and nothing else. It will be constructed there only.”

ALSO READ | RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat pitches for Ram temple at disputed site in Ayodhya

The RSS chief had also stated that the temple would be constructed in the same grandeur as it existed before, using the ‘same stones’ under the guidance of those who were the flag-bearers of the Ram janmabhoomi movement for the last 25 years.

Countering the Sangh Parivar’s demand, Owaisi said the title suit of the Babri Masjid can be decided only on the basis of evidence and not on ‘aastha’ (faith). He also voiced his apprehension that the right-wing outfits might vitiate the atmosphere in the country on the issue before the 2019 elections to gain political mileage.

“Muslims would not be cowed down by such threats,” Owaisi said. “What is pending in the Supreme Court is title suit, which will be decided purely on evidence and not an aastha,” he said.

Owaisi also said he supports Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan’s suggestion that the title suit should not be taken up for hearing till the criminal case relating to the demolition of the mosque was disposed off.

With ANI, IANS inputs