Shah promises “sky-touching” Ram temple in 160 days

Even as protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) spread all across the country, Union home minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah vowed to the voters in Jharkhand that a “sky-touching” Ram temple would come up in Ayodhya within four months.

Addressing a rally at Pakur on Monday (December 16), Shah showered praises on the Raghubar Das-led government over the implementation of the anti-conversion law in the state. “Forcible religious conversion had long been a problem in Jharkhand. Raghubar Das’s government successfully implemented the anti-conversion act,” he said.

Without directly blaming the Congress, the BJP president asked people to be on guard against “traitors” like Syed Mir Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur, who was the first dependent Nawab of Bengal with support from the British East India Company.

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Shah alleged that the Congress could neither develop the country and secure its borders nor honour the sentiments of the people.

Saluting tribal freedom fighters who had launched Santhal Hul (revolution) against the British, Shah told the poll rally it was traitors like Mir Zaffar who had allowed the British to establish their raj. “Even today I will tell (you) that identify traitors like Mir Jafar, who should not become your representatives and vote for the BJP the 56-inch Narendra Modi can develop the country and protect the country,” Shah said without naming anybody.

“(JMM’s) Hemant (Soren) wants to become chief minister sitting in the lap of the Congress. I would like to ask Hemant Soren who had opened gun-fire, tear-gas and resorted to baton-charge on the youth of Jharkhand during the statehood movement? If you don’t remember, ask Guruji (as Shibu Soren is referred to in the state),” he said.

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Shah also listed out a host of welfare and developmental schemes and programmes of the BJP-led governments in the Centre as well Jharkhand in the past five years. He further promised to increase the reservation percentage of the OBC without reducing the SC/ST reservation and said that the OBC Commission would be accorded constitutional status in Jharkhand.

He also ridiculed the Congress and the JMM leaders for reportedly asking what Jharkhand has to do with the country’s security. “Youth of Jharkhand are with the Army, the CRPF and the BSF, guarding snowy mountains, and they ask what Jharkhand has with the country’s security,” Shah said.

Pakur goes for polls on December 20.