Want to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya: Amit Shah

BJP general secretary Amit Shah on Saturday said that he hoped a grand temple dedicated to Lord Ram will be built soon in Ayodhya, perhaps signalling the direction the party’s campaign will take in the upcoming national polls .

“I came here to pray to Ram Lalla. I wish we will soon build a grand temple for Lord Ram here,” Shah told the media in Ayodhya.

Shah, a key aide of the party’s campaign chief Narendra Modi, was visiting Ayodhya for the first time since being appointed the head of the party’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh. Modi had earlier skipped an event at Ayodhya to which he had been invited.

Further evidence of Shah’s growing influence in the party is the fact that he has also been given the task of mobilising them through social media.

Zee News  quoted Shah as saying that he prayed for a “Congress-free India”.

BJP president Rajnath Singh, in consultation with the party’s Parliamentary Board which met on Thursday, decided to give the responsibility of reaching out to potential voters, especially the youth, through social media to Shah.

Meanwhile, Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav  commented on Shah’s statement, saying either legal route or compromise could resolve the Ram Temple issue.

“Let Amit Shah say anything,” Zee News quoted Yadav as saying.

Interestingly, general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy has been given the task of reaching out to people through radio campaigns while BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will be responsible for preparing the “charge sheet” on the failures of the UPA government as well as campaign material.

General secretaries Ananth Kumar and Varun Gandhi are also likely to be given important responsibilities.

Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari may be given the charge of poll-bound Delhi and Rajasthan.

Some important announcements are likely on July 8 when the Parliamentary Board meets again.

With inputs from PTI