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Congress should apologise for saying Ram was fictional: Sudhanshu Trivedi
Trivedi questioned why former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot had raised the issue of Ram Temple without context in his press conference in Delhi.
The BJP on Wednesday asked the Congress to apologise to the people for stating in court that Lord Ram was fictional.
“The Congress should apologise for its malafide act of giving an affidavit in court stating that Lord Ram did not exist, something which even the British and Aurangzeb did not have the courage to say,” said BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi at a press conference in Jaipur.
“If you apologise for this, then we will accept that you have any basis to say even one word on the Ram temple, else in my view this is a condemnable act by the Congress not only from the political, but also moral point of view,” said Trivedi.
Trivedi questioned why former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot had raised the issue of Ram Temple without context in his press conference in Delhi. “I would like to ask who has raised the issue of Ram Temple in the context of Rajasthan election,” he asked. He said Congress should clarify whether it is on the side of the Babri Masjid Action Committee or the Ram Janmanbhoomi Nyas.
Congress spokesperson Archana Sharma denied that her party had given any such affidavit in court. She said the Congress party respects all religions and faiths, unlike the BJP.
Referring to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s comment that a tea-seller had become prime minister thanks to late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Trivedi said Tharoor should shed his “Macaulay mindset” and accept that Indian democratic system was not because of one person or party and Indian democracy dated back thousands of years.
“It is due to India’s democratic tradition dating back thousands of years because of which there is democracy in the country and anyone can become prime minister of the country. A tea-seller became PM and a dynast could not become PM but that is a separate issue,” he said.
Trivedi said in India’s political history only two persons had become prime minister with people’s mandate – late Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi. “All others became leaders when they sat on the prime minister’s chair, including Nehru, with all due respect to him,” said Trivedi.
Congress spokesperson Archana Sharma said it was not the Congress but the BJP that was touting that a tea-seller has become prime minister of India. “Congress party has nurtured Indian democracy and that has given opportunities to all to reach the highest post in the country,” she said.
on the party ignoring Muslims in the ticket distribution, Trivedi said the BJP did not give tickets on the basis of caste, creed, community or religion.
