india

Updated: Feb 21, 2020 18:05 IST

The Shiv Sena has proposed building a “memorial” for the “brave martyrs” who died for the cause of Ram Mandir on the banks of Sarayu River in Ayodhya. In the party mouth piece, the Saamana, Shiv Sena suggested the memorial can be built along the lines of Delhi’s ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’, that is a constant reminder of the bravery of our soldiers, the party said.

“They need not be from any one political party or outfit. They did a surgical strike for the country, and for religion and their faith,” it added.

This comes just two days after Sena’s ally in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar, called for a trust to oversee building of a mosque in Ayodhya along the lines of the Ram Mandir Trust formed to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Reacting to media reports that the Ram temple will be completed before 2024, Saamana said this will benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the next Lok Sabha elections.

“It is evident that God Ram will be the chief guest of the election campaign. Because the issues of Pakistan or surgical strike will not work in 2024 election,” Saamana said.

It added, “The Ram Mandir in the country is a matter of religious pride and faith, but if it is going to be politicised, who will take it upon themselves to stop it?”

Saamana has also suggested that leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Nitish Kumar, and Sharad Pawar should be invited to the ‘Bhoomipoojan’ of the temple and also suggested possible dates for its holding.

“The Bhoomipoojan can happen on the upcoming dates for festivities of Gudi Padva or Ramnavami, and will likely happen at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But other leaders should be invited to leave no scope for criticism that BJP monopolised the function,” it said.

Saamana added that the contribution of non-BJP outfits such as Shiv Sena and Bajarang Dal towards the Ayodhya movement cannot be forgotten.

“In BBC’s images and film on Ram Mandir where ‘Kar Sevaks’ are seen attacking Babri Masjid includes a lot of faces familiar to the Shiv Sena,” the article says, and claims that Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray had fearlessly admitted to Shiv Sainiks’ role in the demolition of Babri Masjid but the party never leveraged it politically.