SMRITI SLAMS CONG AS RAHUL SAYS MANDIR ISSUE IN COURT

NEWDELHI/AMETHI:CONGRESS president Rahul Gandhi avoided a direct comment on the Ram temple issue on Friday, saying the matter is being heard by court.

On the sidelines of his press conference at Parliament House, he also said the narrative of the 2019 general elections will not be Ram Temple as there were far more pressing issues. “That is a sub-judice matter. I would not like to comment on it,” he said.

But on the same day, Union minister Smriti Irani accused Gandhi’s party of “creating hurdles” in the judicial process in the case. Irani, during her visit to Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency, said, “Congress should not do politics through its lawyers on Ram temple issue, which is a matter of faith of people.”

“Its leaders, as lawyers, are creating hurdles in the court. People and Ram bhakts should ask the party whether its leader wore ‘janeu’ only for polls in three states,” she said in an apparent reference to senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who had sought deferment of hearing of the case until after the 2019 general elections.

Irani also attacked Gandhi for postponing his Amethi visit. “His coming late in maidan-e-jang (battlefield) of Amethi is an indication that the person who cannot visit his constituency on time cannot give timely solutions,” Irani, who had contested against Gandhi in the constituency, said.

Gandhi, who was set to cross paths with Irani, said on Facebook, “My two-day trip to Amethi that had to begin from today has been postponed for January 22-23. I am sorry for the inconvenience caused by this delay.”