Muslims should not oppose Ram temple, says Amar Singh
GORAKHPUR :Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Amar Singh on Saturday said Muslims should not oppose construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya as Hindus do not oppose Mecca and Medina, the holy sites in Saudia Arabia.
He added the BJP would be at a loss if the temple was not constructed but added that he would support Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Singh said, “Both the BJP and Hindutva will be at a loss if the Ram temple is not constructed. Hindus do not oppose
Mecca-Medina, so Muslims should also not oppose Ram temple. If not in India, where will the temple be built.” She was speaking at the sidelines of the Gorakhpur Literary Festival. Vidhan Sabha speaker Hridaya
Narayan Dikshit in the presence of former UP Sahitya Akademi chairman Vishwanath Tiwari and others from the world of literature, politics, films and theatre. Speaking about his ties with chief minister Yogi Aditynath , Singh said he couldn’t oppose Yogi as he was a Thakur by caste like him .
“When Yogiji was sent to jail by the Mulayam Singh government (in 2007), I was part of that regime . But when I met Yogiji later, he treated me with respect and that increased my respect for him. When he was jailed, I had said that it would be a boon for him and that turned true later.”
Adityanath was jailed in 2007 when Gorakhpur witnessed communal riots.
‘PASSAGE OF SC/ST ACT A MISTAKE’
Reacting to the BJP government’s decision to overturn the apex court ruling to restore certain provisions of the SC/ST Act in August this year , Singh said it was a mistake.
“The BJP has made a mistake by passing this Act, but this does not mean that people will not support Modi in the upcoming election. Just think what will happen to savarnas (upper castes) if the reins go back to Mayawati. Only Modi can prevent misuse of the SC/ST Act.”
Attacking Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, Singh said: “He is an asur (demon). When Jaya Prada went to Rampur to fight election , some of the actors who had worked with her called me up and told that there was threat to Jaya Prada from Khan. At that time I donned the role of Krishna to save her.”