Disapproving of the Shiv Sena's push for constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday said the party had no role in the temple movement. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday had asked the BJP-led NDA government to declare a date for the construction of the Ram temple.
"There is no problem in Uddhav Thackeray catching a glimpse of Ram Lalla... But, had Balasaheb Thackeray been alive, he would have prevented Uddhav from doing whatever he is doing,” Maurya said.
“The Shiv Sena had no role in the temple movement or even in the Dharam Sabha, though Balasaheb Thackeray would support the Vishwa Hindu Parishad,” he added.
He said Uddhav Thackeray should take the VHP, "which is leading such a large-scale movement, along with his party. There is no point creating a divide".
“The devotees of Lord Ram know who can actually make a sacrifice now and who had made a sacrifice earlier,” said Maurya, who was a part of the VHP during the Ram temple movement.
Maurya also denounced Akhilesh Yadav's statement that the Army must be deployed for the Dharam Sabha, saying the remarks showed the Samajwadi Party chief's frustration.
"If Akhilesh Yadav is thinking that a 1990-like situation will prevail, then this will not happen under the government headed by Yogi Adityanath. We will provide adequate security to all and take necessary action,” the deputy chief minister said as he referred to the firing on the Kar Sevaks in Ayodhya in 1990.
"This is a Dharam Sabha, and there is no need to deploy the Army, and Akhilesh Yadav must understand this," the UP deputy chief minister said.
Asked about a section of the Muslim community feeling apprehensive about the event, he said, "No one needs to fear (anything). There is peace in Uttar Pradesh. The government has made elaborate security arrangements to ensure that no untoward incident takes place."
Maurya also made it clear that no mosque, memorial or tomb (maqbara) in the name of Babar will be allowed to come up at Ram Janmabhoomi.
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