Cong's Digvijaya champions Sharad Pawar's 'Ram Mandir not Covid cure' view; Swamy opposes

Backing NCP chief Sharad Pawar's statement on Ram Mandir, Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said that Pawar is "absolutely right" and he fully agrees with him. The Rajya Sabha MP added that he wished PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah would have listened to the NCP leader and maybe the situation of the country "would have been better today"

'You are absolutely right'

Digvijaya shared an article's link about Sharad Pawar's remarks along with a tweet in Hindi which read, "You are absolutely right, Mr Pawar. This (not stated) would not be the situation of the country if Modi-Shah had followed your path."

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said that some people think that the coronavirus would be eradicated by building a temple. Pawar's comments came after PM Modi's Ayodhya visit on August 5 for the "bhoomi pujan" ceremony of Ram Temple was finalised.

Sharad Pawar on PM's Ayodhya visit

Addressing a press conference in Solapur, he said, "We are all thinking of how to fight the battle against Coronavirus but some people think that Coronavirus will be mitigated by building a temple. But our priority is to see how to improve the economy which has been affected due to lockdown."

"The lockdown has created an economic crisis and we want to request the State and Central government to pay attention to the issue," added Pawar. 

Top BJP sources told Republic TV that senior party leader Lal Krishna Advani is likely to accompany the Prime Minister for the ceremony. In the late 1980s, the BJP veteran leader became the political face of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, giving it heft and wide publicity. The party included the Ram temple issue in its manifesto in 1989 under the presidentship of Advani.

READ | PM Modi finalises August 5 date for Ram Mandir's foundation stone-laying in Ayodhya

READ | LK Advani likely to go with PM Modi to Ayodhya; Ram Mandir foundation stone a silver brick

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy on Monday slammed Pawar by terming his comments as "ridiculous" and demanded an apology from the veteran politician.  

'Filling the vacuum'

Dr Swamy said that Prime Minister Modi "won't care" what Pawar says but to the people of India, Pawar must apologise as their "feelings have been hurt." 

"NCP and Congress are harming themselves by making such comments. Earlier, such comments were made by Mani Shankar Aiyar but now he is silent and seems like Sharad Pawar is filling the vacuum," the senior BJP leader said.

READ | Sharad Pawar on PM Modi's Ayodhya visit: 'Some feel building temple helps in COVID fight'

READ | Subramanian Swamy hammers Sharad Pawar's 'Ram Mandir won't cure Covid' logic; argues back