After maintaining silence for a long time, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar is back with his controversial statements. He has now questioned the birth of Lord Ram at Ayodhya, reported ANI.
Speaking at an event ‘Ek Shaam Babri Masjid Ke Naam’ organised by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in New Delhi, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar shockingly went on to question the birth of Lord Ram at Ayodhya by saying that how can someone be so sure that Lord Ram was born at that historic site.
He made these remarks while speaking regarding the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, and said those who want a mandir can make one but “how can they say mandir wahin banayenge?”
#WATCH Mani Shankar Aiyar, Congress, speaks on #RamMandir at ‘Ek Shaam Babri Masjid Ke Naam’ programme organised by Social Democratic Party of India in Delhi pic.twitter.com/QtckaUdW70
— ANI (@ANI) January 7, 2019
“What do you mean mandir wahin banayenge? King Dasharatha was a big king and it is believed he had as many as 10,000 rooms in his palace. Who knows which room was where? And hence they say that because we think that our Lord Ram was born here, and hence the temple should be built there, and because there is a masjid there, we will first demolish it and then build a temple at that place?” Aiyar said. He added it is not to have faith in Allah.
Aiyar went on to target his own party for the demolition of the Babri-Masjid, saying that the Congress government could have stopped it. He further termed the historic day of Babri demolition as the “murder of the Constitution”.
“I’m from the Congress and we did a mistake. (The then Prime Minister) Narasimha Rao didn’t take the right steps at the right time and a mistake happened,” said Mani Shankar Aiyar.
Aiyar further indulged in fear mongering by claiming that the demolition of Babri Masjid demolition was similar to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination and questioned the safety of Muslims in the country.
Interestingly, Aiyar also assured the Muslim community that the Congress party is willing to work on other alternatives to tackle the situation if the community is not satisfied with the judgement of the Supreme Court.
“If you are unsatisfied by the court’s decision (On Babri Masjid), then we will talk on that. We will see what could be the solution. But I have complete faith in our judiciary. I believe we will not forget the meaning of justice. If we don’t agree, then there are many other ways to face that situation,” Aiyar said.
Mani Shankar Aiyar, known for his abusive statements against Prime Minister Modi was suspended from the Congress party after he had referred PM Modi as “neech aadmi” during Gujarat elections in December 2017, but he was later taken back to the party in August 2018.
This was not the first time Aiyar had made such casteist and elitist remarks. Mani Shankar Aiyar is widely believed to have helped Modi in his 2014 campaign when he used the term “chaiwala” (tea seller) as an insult for the then BJP Prime Ministerial candidate.
