Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday attacked NCP chief Sharad Pawar over his demand for creation of a trust for construction of a mosque in Ayodhya on the lines of a similar body for Ram temple. Speaking to reporters here on the eve of the Budget session of the Maharashtra legislature, Fadnavis asked why Pawar wanted to build a mosque in the name of an invader like Babar.

"Babar (the first emperor of Mughal dynasty in the Indian sub-continent) was an invader. Why on the earth did NCP chief Sharad Pawar want to erect a new mosque in the name of Babar? If Muslims want a place for prayer, they should have one but why in the name of Babar?" asked Fadnavis, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Speaking in Lucknow on February 20, Pawar demanded the Central government to form a trust for building a mosque in Ayodhya similar to the trust to oversee the construction of Ram temple.

"I also wonder why Pawar demanded a trust for a mosque when he knows that a Waqf has to be formed for the same," Fadnavis said. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court in November 2019 ruled unanimously in favor of Ram temple in Ayodhya. The court had said the whole disputed land spread over 2.7-acre will be handed over to a trust formed by the government, which will examine the construction of Ram temple at the place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on February 5 the formation of 'Shri Ram Janambhoomi Tirath Kshetra' trust which would oversee the construction of Ram Temple.