TPCC working president Ponnam Prabhakar today made clear the fact that nobody was opposed to the construction of Ayodha's much-talked about Ram temple but to the fact that its construction was being politicised by the leaders of the BJP.
Targeting the Centre on the issue, Prabhakar expressed his displeasure at the BJP's mass donation drive for the works, and asked it why it was not bankrolling the temple's works itself, and why it was collecting funds from the public for the same if not for electoral gains.
The Congress leader then addressed the Telangana government, and lashed out at it for its decision to shut down all the food grain procurement centres in the state, and warned the latter that his party would not keep mum regarding the issue.
The BJP's donation drive to fund the construction of the controversial Ram temple has prompted various leaders to comment on the matter. This has left the leaders of the saffron party visibly annoyed, and has prompted them to assail all those "not supporting" the construction of the temple.
Days ago, BJP national vice president D K Aruna
lashed out at CM K Chandrashekar Rao for reportedly having a problem with the construction of the temple. BJP leader and Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind also clarified that the party's funding drive was
not a ploy to gain political or electoral benefits of any kind.
The temple, being built on what some Hindus claim is the birthplace of the deity Ram, has a fraught history. It has remained a contentious issue for decades now for it is being constructed on a piece of land where Ayodhya's Babri Masjid once stood - the masjid was unlawfully demolished by the 'kar sevaks' dedicated to the cause of the temple in 1992 to make way for the temple.