Uddhav’s Ayodhya plan irks allies

THE MOMENT that we all were waiting for has come. The construction of the Ram Mandir is happening due to the Supreme Court order. Sena founder was the architect of the Ram Mandir movement.

SANJAY RAUT, Shiv Sena

A day after saying that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray does not need an invitation to go to Ayodhya, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut announced that the Maharashtra Chief Minister will definitely visit the holy town to attend the bhoomi pujan ceremony of the proposed Ram Mandir on August 5. The Shiv Sena’s stand is likely to put the other two constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government — the NCP and the Congress — in a quandary.

Raut did not clarify whether the official invitation for the event has been extended to Thackeray as yet. He said, “The moment that we all were waiting for has come. The construction of the Ram Mandir is happening due to the Supreme Court order. Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray was the architect of the Ram Mandir movement, which further went ahead under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray.”

The Shiv Sena shares sentimental, religious and national ties with this issue. It was due to the blessings of Lord Ram and the seers of Ayodhya that Uddhav became CM, Raut added.

NCP president Sharad Pawar has said that construction of Ram Mandir would not eliminate the Coronavirus, and Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat alleged that the BJP was using the issue to divert attention from the Centre’s failure to curb Covid-19 across the country. However, Raut, the Sena Rajya Sabha MP. denied that the issue would create rift within the MVA government.