Mumbai: For the Bharatiya Janata Party, the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is not a political agenda or a poll plank, but a matter of 'asmita' (pride), Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in an exclusive interview to CNN-News18.
While answering a question on ‘vikas’ vs ‘mandir’, the Maharashtra CM said the BJP’s only poll plank will be vikas or development. When asked if the BJP will bring an ordinance to build the Ram Temple, he said the party did not have the numbers in Rajya Sabha to do so.
“It has been proven through various records submitted before the court that a Ram Mandir already exists there. We only want a bigger Ram Mandir at the same place. Everyone wants it. We will 100 per cent build a Ram Mandir there. The Supreme Court judgment will be favourable to us," he said. When asked about the delay in hearing in Supreme Court, he said the party does not have the numbers in Rajya Sabha to bring about an ordinance.
“Who was Babur? As the Sarsanghachalak rightly pointed out, he was an invader who not only tortured Hindus, but also Muslims. But Prabhu Ram Chandra is an Indian. He is a deity worshipped across the country. We want a huge Ram Mandir at a place where it already exists," he said.
The Shiv Sena has consistently targeted BJP for failing to build the Ram Temple in Ayodhya despite being in power at the Centre as well as in the state. “Nobody is going to get this kind of absolute majority again. Why are they not speaking? Mandir wahin banayenge, par taareekh nahi bataenge," Sanjay Raut had told CNN-News 18.
Responding to the question, Fadnavis said, “There are only two ways in which we can build a Ram temple. First, if the Supreme Court clears the decks and second, by bringing in a law. But, to bring in a law, we need numbers. Do you think the Congress will support Ram Temple? Do you think, the Communists will support the temple? Do you think that Mayawati or Mulayam Singh or Lalu Prasad Yadav or Mamata Banerjee will support the Ram Mandir? The fact is that, while making laws, numbers matter. And the numbers are not with us in Rajya Sabha," he said.
He said that the party had done so in the past, when they had the numbers with them. “We built a temple in Somnath. We had numbers with us. Here, looking at the overwhelming evidence submitted by the Archeological Survey of India, and looking at the previous High Court order, the ruling in the Supreme Court will 100 per cent be in our favour," he said.
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