I was asked for my personal opinion at a literary festival & gave it as such. I am not a Spokesperson for my party… https://t.co/qJKmRPusO6 — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) 1539596992000

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor clarifies statement on Ram temple

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday claimed that his comments on Ram temple were distorted even as the BJP accused Congress of using its leaders to build a momentum against the construction of a temple in Ayodhya.BJP's attack came following Tharoor's reported remarks that no good Hindu would want the Ram temple to be built after demolishing somebody else's place of worship, a reference to razing down of the Babri mosque in December 1992.Tharoor, however, slammed the deliberate distortion of his remarks by media and tweeted a clarification."I condemn the malicious distortion of my words by some media in the service of political masters. I said: “most Hindus would want a temple at what they believe to be Ram’s birthplace. But no good Hindu would want it to be built by destroying another’s place of worship.”The Congress leader also clarified that he was speaking in an individual capacity and not for the party."I was asked for my personal opinion at a literary festival & gave it as such. I am not a Spokesperson for my party & did not claim to be speaking for @incindia," he said in another tweet.The BJP, meanwhile, accused the Congress of trying everything to delay the Ayodhya verdict.BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said his party wants an early verdict from the Supreme Court on the Ram temple case but the Congress is trying everything to delay it.Congress leaders had earlier filed plea in the court to delay the matter, he alleged, adding that Tharoor is the latest to join the bandwagon by linking construction of a temple with the "demolition of disputed structure" that happened decades back.The BJP wants a grand Ram temple and will wait for the court's verdict, Rao said, asking Rahul Gandhi to clear his stand."You (Congress) are conspiring to ensure that there is no verdict from the court," he said.The Congress is doing "vote bank politics", he said, alleging that Rahul Gandhi had earlier claimed that his party was a "Muslims party".Rahul Gandhi wears his "Shiv bhakti" (devotion to Lord Shiv) on his sleeve but he should answer whether he is a Hindu or not, Rao said.Speaking at an event in Chennai, Tharoor had said as a Hindu he was very conscious that a vast majority of his fellow Hindus believe that this (the site in Ayodhya) was the specific birth place of Lord Ram."And for that reason most good Hindus would want to see a Ram temple at the site where Ram was supposed to be born. But I also believe that no good Hindu would have wanted to see that temple built by demolishing somebody else's place of worship," he said.BJP's national spokesman Sambit Patra hit back at Tharoor's remarks and said it "exposed" the real face of Rahul Gandhi."Rahul Gandhi's real face stands exposed," Patra told a TV news channel, criticising Tharoor's comments. He made a reference to the Congress president's frequent visits to temples in election-bound states.He said while Rahul Gandhi "does fancy dress shows" by visiting Hindu temples, a leader of his party makes such comments."These remarks completely expose the Congress ... Rahul Gandhi. They are anti-Hindu," he said.Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said Tharoor was trying to "arrogate" to himself spiritual powers and that he has his "lost balance"."He is no authority on Hindu. He has led a life which has nothing to do with Hinduism. He is arrogating to himself spiritual powers or powers of religious authority. He has lost his balance," Swamy said.