Court paved way for construction of Ram temple, not BJP: Chhattisgarh CM

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], January 7 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has countered Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his recent announcement that the Ram Temple at Ayodhya would be ready for inauguration on January 1, 2024 and asserted that it was not the Bharatiya Janata Party but the courts that had paved the way for the construction of the temple.
The Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh are scheduled later this year.
"Ram Mandir is being built after the orders of the court. A trust and an organisation were set up after Supreme Court's order and they are the ones who are constructing the temple, not BJP," Baghel said while addressing the media on Friday.
He further said that the state government is building making 'Ram Van Gaman Path' without any court order "out of devotion".
"Court didn't order us to, but we're making Ram Van Gaman Path here. 35-ft tall Lord Ram idol being installed at Shivrinarayan premises. They're(BJP)doing this for votes; we do out of devotion," Chhattisgarh CM further said.
Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Baghel said that the BJP has expertise on the issues of "religious conversion" and "communalism".
"I have a list of churches built during the BJP rule. Churches were built when religious conversion happened. BJP has expertise in the issues of religious conversion and communalism. But their conspiracies won't succeed," Baghel said.
Addressing a rally in Tripura's Sabroom where the Assembly election is due in March, Shah on Thursday announced the inauguration date of the Ram temple in Ayodhya while taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi's "tareekh nahi bataenge" remark during the 2019 poll campaign.
"Congress hindered the construction of Ram Temple in courts. After the Supreme Court verdict came, Modiji began the construction of the temple. PM Modi performed the 'Bhoomi Pujan' and began the construction of the temple," Shah said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also targeted Shah for making the announcement in poll-bound Tripura and questioned the latter's authority.
"Who are you to make such an announcement? Are you the pujari or the mahant of the Ram temple?" M Kharge slammed Shah.
Notably, the construction of the temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya is going on at a fast pace. On August 5, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram temple and since then the construction work of the temple has been going on.
The five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi (now retired) had on November 9, 2019, unanimously delivered its verdict that the land in Ayodhya where Babri Masjid once stood, belongs to Ram Lalla. (ANI)