NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday announced the construction of Ram Temple in West Bengal to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Ayodhya Ram temple. This came amidst row over the Trinamool Congress MLA’s remarks who said that the Babri Masjid was yet to be rebuilt 30 years after its demolition.
“Ram Mandir should not be built as a response to the mosque. Babri Masjid can be constructed, and Ram Mandir can also be constructed… The same person who said Babri Masjid will be constructed once said that Hindus would be massacred and thrown into the Bhagirathi. There was no show-cause notice or punishment for these statements,” BJP leader Agnimitra Paul said.
She accused Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee of stoking communal tensions in the state and said: “Mamata Banerjee is behind these remarks… She is preparing another Bangladesh for her vote bank. Ram Mandir will be constructed. We will commemorate the one year of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, and the foundation stone will be laid in Berhampur.”
Earlier, TMC MLA Humayun Kabir had made comments regarding the Babri Masjid, calling it a deeply emotional issue for Muslims.
“The Babri Masjid was a sentimental issue for Muslims. It was built by Babur, and we all know that in 1992, the Babri Masjid was demolished. It’s been 30 years, and the Babri Masjid hasn’t been rebuilt yet. In 2019, the Supreme Court passed a unanimous verdict, allocating five acres of land for constructing a mosque. With time, it will be built,” he had said.
“In Bengal, particularly in Murshidabad, some are saying that a new Babri Masjid will be built to provoke people. But there’s no issue with that. There’s no problem. Regarding the Babri Masjid land, if asked where the land will be bought, let me clarify that we haven’t approached the state government for any land for the Babri Masjid. No, we have no intention of taking any government land or grants,” he added.
Rejecting allegations of involvement with Bangladeshis, Kabir said that border security was the central government’s responsibility, asserting that he had not noticed any such issues in the area.