BJP chief Amit Shah
The BJP on Saturday denied reports claiming that BJP president Amit Shah had on Friday said that construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya will start before the next Lok Sabha elections. The reaction comes a day after Telangana BJP leader Perala Chandrashekar Rao told Telugu news channel TV5 that Shah, at a meeting with state leaders during during his visit to Hyderabad on Friday, had said that construction of the temple in Ayodhya may begin before the General Election.
“Yesterday in Telangana, BJP President Shri Amit Shah didn’t make any statement on the issue of Ram Mandir as being claimed in certain sections of the media. No such matter was even on the agenda,” the BJP tweeted from its official Twitter handle on Saturday.
BJP general secretary P Murlidhar Rao tweeted, “This report about Shri Ram Janmabhoomi dispute is completely incorrect. In yesterday’s tour Shri Amit Shah ji has not expressed anything of this sort.”
Quoting Shah, Perala Chandrashekar had said on Friday, “Ramajanmabhoomi nirmananiki paristitulu anni rakaluga anukulanga marutunnai, ra boye ennikalu lopu tappakunda Ramajanmabhoomi nirmanam prarambham avuthunadhi ani chala spashtamga vaaru suchana cheyyadum jarigindi (Conditions are turning favourable for construction of Ramajanmabhoomi and before the coming elections definitely building would start. He gave that clear message).”
On Saturday, several other Telangana BJP leaders who attended the meeting with Shah rejected Perala Chandrashekar’s claims. Party MLC Ramchander Rao said, “I was present in all the meetings, and Amit Shah did not talk much about Ram Janmabhoomi. He said the matter is sub judice as of now. He (Shah) said that conditions in the country were favourable for BJP. I am not sure why Perala Chandrashekar made that claim regarding Ram Janmabhoomi.”
Perala Chandrashekar remained unavailable for a comment on Saturday.