RSS pulls up Modi government for prioritising Patel statue over Ram Temple

Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has pulled up the Narendra Modi-led central government for giving priority to the construction of Sardar Patel statue over Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Addressing a public rally in Mumbai, RSS Joint General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said that the ruling government built a giant statue of Sardar Patel but could not pass an Act to build a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya. "If Sardar Patel's statue can be erected on the banks of the Narmada river (in Gujarat), why an act cannot be passed to build a giant Ram temple?" the powerful Sangh leader questioned the Modi government.

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On October 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated a massive 182-meter statue of Sardar Patel- India’s first home minister who is given credit to unite India’s princely states post independence. Named as Statue of Unity, the towering figurine is said to be the world’s tallest statue.

The RSS Joint General Secretary said that although a separate bench has been formed by the Supreme Court, the decision to allot the land to Hindus for Ram Temple is not on the priority of the top court.

"Then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao while speaking before the Supreme Court had stated that if the archaeological survey finds remains of a temple (at the site), the land would be made available for the temple. The excavation has found remains of the temple, but the court now says that this decision is not on its priority list," Hosabale said.

The RSS leader made his remarks at a rally in Mumbai which was organised jointly by the Hindu hardline group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and some other regional religious outfits to mount pressure on the Modi government for expediting construction of the Ram temple.

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In his annual Vijaya Dashmi rally in Nagpur this October, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had demanded a law to pave the way for construction of the temple in Ayodhya. Several Hindu hardline organisations have been demanding the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, as promised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before coming to power in 2014.