Digvijaya Singh promises temple on Congress land

The BJP termed the announcement as an election stunt. The BJP has been at the forefront of a campaign for the construction of a temple on a disputed site in Ayodhya, which certain right-wing Hindu groups say, is Ram’s birthplace.

The Congress candidate from Bhopal, Digvijaya Singh, said on Saturday that the party’s Bhopal district unit would give up its claim on the land alongside an ancient Ram temple near the city’s Hamidia Road, so that the temple trust could build a grand shrine of the Hindu deity.

The Congress was allotted the land around 2003, but the temple trust has claimed ownership.(HT PHOTO)

The BJP termed the announcement as an election stunt. The BJP has been at the forefront of a campaign for the construction of a temple on a disputed site in Ayodhya, which certain right-wing Hindu groups say, is Ram’s birthplace.

“The Bhopal district Congress is going to give up its claim on the land as over the years, there has been an increase in the number of followers at the Ram temple. There is space constraint. With this land, the Ram temple trust would be able to construct a grand Ram temple,” said Singh.

Bhopal Congress unit chief Kailash Mishra agreed with Singh, saying, “Digvijaya Singh resolved the issue and we have given up our claim on the land...”

BJP legislator Vishwas Sarang said, “This dispute has been going on for decades. Why this change of heart now? Digvijaya Singh is doing it due to the compulsion of the elections and trying to show that he is a devout Hindu...”

The Congress was allotted the land around 2003, but the temple trust has claimed ownership.

“What Digvijaya Singh did today was part of the ongoing soft-Hindutva approach that started from the assembly elections...,” said political analyst LS Hardenia. Madhya Pradesh chief electoral officer VL Kantha Rao said, “We have called for the video of Digvijaya Singh’s statement and we will examine it.”