Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday asked the people not to forget the 'sacrifices' made for the Ram Temple as he likened the laying of the foundation stone of the Ram Temple by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the reconstruction of Somenath Temple in Gujarat by India's first home minister Vallabhbahi Patel.
Addressing a public meeting at Ayodhya, Shah accused the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and BSP of "creating hurdles" in the way of the Ram Temple and asked the people not to support those who never 'respected' the places of worship of the Hindus.
"Ram Lala had to spend many years in the tent... people had to make many sacrifices for the Ram Temple... and today a grand Ram Temple is being built here," the former BJP national president said.
Shah said that the sacrifices made for the Ram Temple must not be forgotten. "We must remember the sacrifices and also remember those who did not allow the Ram Temple to be built for so many years and who ordered firing on the karsevaks," he added.
He also referred to the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi and the famous Vindhyavasini Temple in Mirzapur district and said that the Hindu places of worship were not given the respect they deserved by the previous regimes. "Under the Modi-Yogi government these places are being renovated and our cultural heritage is being restored," he said.
Earlier the union minister visited the makeshift Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the famous Hanumangarhi temple. He also met the office bearers of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and inquired about the construction status of the Ram Temple.
In his earlier public meetings also Shah focussed mainly on the Hindutva issues and sought to paint his rivals as 'Pro-Muslim' and 'anti-Hindu'.
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