india

Updated: Nov 27, 2018 12:10 IST

Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi on Monday dared the BJP to go ahead and build the temple if it had the courage, and stop playing politics over it.

“Who is stopping the BJP? It should not resort to politics over temple. All want the temple there with mutual consent. The BJP should go ahead if it feels it can,” she said, while talking to media persons outside the Bihar legislative council on the first day of the winter session of the Bihar Legislature.

In the absence of both her sons Tej Pratap Yadav and leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejasvi Prasad Yadav, Rabri held the fort. Tej Pratap Yadav has been away from Patna ever since he filed a divorce petition.

“The matter of the Ram temple is before the apex court and no matter how much the BJP tries, it will not succeed in its plan. If it feels it can go ahead without the court verdict, it should do it. For the BJP it is just a poll issue that it is trying to play up again, as it did in the past,” she added.

The former CM also attacked the Nitish government over poor law and order in the state and for alleged scams. “There are far too many issues to be raised in the House,” she said, ahead of the RJD legislature party meeting to decide the party’s floor strategy slated Monday evening.

Before the session began, Rabri Devi and Nitish Kumar had come face to face in the chamber of Bihar legislative chairman, Haroon Rashid and sat next to each other for a while. Rabri had gone to present a bouquet to Rashid on the first day of the session, when she found the chief minister there too.

Former Bihar CM, Jitan Ram Manjhi said that the temple was no issue. “The matter is before the court and once it is decided in the court, it will be built. It is not an issue, but the BJP is desperately trying to make one,” he added.

BJP leader Ramnaresh Chaurasia, on the other hand, said that all political parties should join hands to build the temple at the designated spot in Ayodhya. “It has to be built there only,” he added.