MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Monday alleged that the mass contact initiative to raise funds from the public for the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya it is akin to “campaigning” for the 2024 general election on behalf of Lord Ram.
The BJP, however, dismissed the charge, saying it is not a political problem for the party and accused the Shiv Sena of previously barricading the bhoomi pujan of the Ram temple construction and now creating obstacles in the donation initiative. ” in which people are participating voluntarily. ”
An editorial in the Seine spokesman ‘Saamana‘said that it was never decided that the great temple will be built through public donations, and that political campaigns on behalf of Lord Ram must stop at some point.
“But the issue of public donations is not simple. It is political,” he argued.
Secretary General of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Champat Rai last week he said that the trust will launch a massive campaign of contacts and contributions throughout the country for the construction of the temple.
The temple will be built with domestic funds raised from the general public through the mass contact program, as the trust does not have the necessary approvals to accept donations from abroad, Rai said.
The Marathi daily, without naming any party or organization, said: “The temple is basically not being built for the political achievements of a political party, but to display the banners of the country’s Hindu pride.”
He stated that four lakhs of volunteers will implement the contact initiative.
“This mass contact program is campaigning for 2024 Lok Sabha surveys on behalf of Lord Ram. The political campaign for Lord Ram’s name must stop at some point. But you can’t see it (as happening), “he said.
The editorial asked who exactly the volunteers were (for the mass contact campaign) and sought clarity about their parent organization.
He said that hundreds of kar sevaks “shed their blood and made sacrifices” during the temple’s building campaign, and asked if it should be built seeking donations.
“It will be an insult to every soul that shed blood for the temple (for the purpose of construction) if the volunteers are going to campaign for a political party on behalf of seeking donations,” Shiv Sena said.
“The fight for the temple was not political, but an outbreak of Hindu emotions,” he added.
HPV leader Ashok Singhal, Vinay Katiyar and others had camped in Ayodhya during the first days of the temple construction campaign, it noted.
BJP veteran LK Advani launched Rath Yatra taking the campaign across the country, as “hammers fell” on the grave of Babri Mosque through the inspiration of the founder of Shiv Sena, who passed away Bal thackeraythe editorial said.
“This is the story. But today the Ayodhyas Ram temple is becoming a subject of property rights,” he alleged.
Reacting to the editorial, BJP MLA and ex Maharashtra Minister Ashish Shelar said: “Why are they afraid? Why is Sanjay Raut (Saamana’s executive editor) publicly laying the groundwork for his defeat in the 2024 elections?”
“For the BJP, (the construction of the temple) was not a political issue nor is it a political issue,” he said.
Shelar accused the Shiv Sena of taking “Ram virodhi (anti-Ram)” positions by barricading the bhoomi pujan of Ram temple construction and now creating obstacles in the donation initiative “in which ordinary people voluntarily participate. “.
He noted the “battles and sacrifices” made during the temple campaign by the RSS, Bajrang Dal, and VHP, and leaders such as Ashok Singhal, Uma Bharati, and others.
“Those who only meddled politically in the campaign felt a stomach ache at the time of the Ram bhoomi pujan temple construction and now the ‘Ram (temple construction)’ donation irritates their eyes,” he alleged.
The BJP leader also asked where are the “who run the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) according to the will of the contractors “they have the habit of making donations through their own pockets.
The BMC, which is the richest civic body in the country, is governed by the Shiv Sena.
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