While the entire country has united to contribute towards the construction of the Bhavya Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a dream which is coming true almost after 500 years, the Congress party is busy playing politics over the same. Taking a dig at the Ram Mandir donation drive, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole alleged that he was threatened by some people for not contributing to the construction of the temple, reports Times Now.
“I asked one of them that 30 years ago you had taken the money to build the temple, where is that money. So he replied that if you did not give the money, then you will be thrown out of religion,” Patole said.
Maharashtra Congress chief equate the donation drive to toll collection
Falling to a new low, the Maharashtra Congress chief went on to equate the donation drive to toll collection, insinuating that BJP has been siphoning the huge sum being collected from common citizens in the name of Lord Ram.
“A person named Manohar Kulkarni came to me today and sought donations for the Ram temple. He threatened me, as I did not donate. So, I want to ask the government under which charity law can such donations be collected. Or has Lord Ram given them (BJP) a contract to collect toll? Who are they to collect donations using the name of Lord Ram?”, Patole asked in the Legislative Assembly on March 4 (Thursday).
Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said that it was improper to raise the issue in the Assembly, as the discussion was not about Ram mandir. “Those who are known to extort money can’t understand the dedication. If you have guts, let’s have a discussion on the Ram temple,” he said.
This heated exchange of words compelled the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Narhari Zirwal to adjourn the House for 10 minutes amid sloganeering by ruling and Opposition members.
Congress party’s stand regarding Ram Mandir has not been very clear. On one side, the party leaders like Digvijaya Singh and Raghunathan Pillai (Kerala Congress) made donations for the construction of Ram Mandir and inaugurated the fund collection drive respectively. The Rajasthan wing of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of Congress, launched a campaign named ‘Rs 1 Ram k Nam’ in Rajasthan on Tuesday to collect donations from students for the construction of the Ram Mandir. On the other side, Congress has always tried distance itself from the Ram Mandir issue to maintain its claim of being a secular party.