The Chief Minister of Kerela, Pinarayi Vijayan, asserted that he was not surprised by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s statement on the ‘bhoomi pujan’ ceremony conducted in Ayodhya yesterday. “I am not surprised by Priyanka Gandhi’s stand in this matter”, quoted V lakhijayan.
The Minister claimed that the situation in Ayodhya would not have turned into a conflict, had Congress, in retrospect, had taken a “definite stand” on secularism. “We all know who opened the doors of the temple and who allowed ‘Kar Sewaks’ which ultimately led to the demolition of the Mandir”, he stated. Vijayan, in his statement, also accused Congress of supporting “soft Hindutva”.
Just ahead of the grand ‘bhoomi pujan’ at the Ram Janmabhoomi, the senior Congress leader, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed joy and gratitude towards building the temple for Lord Ram. The bhoomi pujan, she said, “is a celebration of national identity, fraternity and cultural affinity”. Vadra, further added, “for ages, Lord Ram’s character has served as a source of unity for the entire Indian subcontinent”.
The Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir issue had been a longstanding issue in India, which concluded yesterday with a temple, of Lord Ram, being built on the grounds of Ayodhya. The mandir is being built at the same place which hosted a mosque for Muslims in the past. The mosque, known as Babri Masjid, was demolished by a procession (rath-yatra), led by the senior BJP leader, Lal Krishna Advani.
When Times Now asked CM Vijayan about his reaction on laying the foundation stone of the temple, the minister said that their focus would now be on mitigating the COVID-19 situation in the state first. “Today, COVID-19 cases in the country has crossed over 19 lakh. We need to think about how to overcome this pandemic”, he said.
CM Vijayan further added, “The state government is trying to take steps to mitigate the sufferings of the people. We will think about such things first and the rest of the matter later”.
