People will 'beat us with shoes' if we don't fulfil promise of Ram Mandir this time, says Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut

New Delhi: Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that people will ‘beat them with shoes’ if they do not fulfil the promise of Ram Temple construction this time. “In 2014, we promised construction of the Ram temple but we did not accomplish it. The concluded election was also fought in the name of Lord Ram. Before elections, we went to Ayodhya with party chief Uddhav Thackrey ji, we have committed ourselves to the construction of the temple and I feel this time around Ram temple’s construction will start. Because if we don’t, the country will stop trusting us and us with shoes in anger,” he said while speaking to ANI. Raut stated that the temple will be built soon as NDA has a majority in the Lok Sabha with 350 seats. [caption id=“attachment_4550431” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Sanjay Raut. Twitter@rautsanjay61[/caption] “Now BJP has 303 MPs, Shiv Sena has 18, NDA has more than 350, what more is needed to construct the temple?” he asked. On 27 May, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had hinted at stepping up efforts for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, saying “Ram’s work has to be done.” “We have to do Ram’s work and we will get it done. This is our work. Ram lives in us, so this is our work and we will do it ourselves. Even if we outsource it to somebody, we have to keep an eye,” Bhagwat had said while addressing an event in Udaipur in Rajasthan. RSS, the ideological mentor of BJP, has repeatedly called for the construction of Ram Temple at the disputed land in Ayodhya. The BJP, in its election manifesto, had stated that it would “explore possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and take necessary steps to expedite construction of Ram temple.” In March, the court appointed a panel of mediators, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice FMI Kalifulla, and gave it eight weeks to meet all stakeholders and explore the possibility of an amicable settlement to the contentious issue. The panel submitted the report on 10 May and the Supreme Court is expected to take up a decision in this regard.