JOIN USTelangana Congress chief backs idea of building 100 Ram temples in state; election time gimmick, says BJP
In probably the first case of a Congress state unit chief endorsing the idea of building Lord Rama temples, Telangana PCC chief Revanth Reddy said that his party, upon coming to power, will actively consider a proposal to build 100 Ram temples – one each in the state's assembly constituencies, providing Rs 10 crore for every place.
Revanth made the public statement while addressing a Congress party rally in Bhadrachalam, the temple town famous for its Lord Rama temple, as part of his ongoing Hath Se Hath Jodo Yatra, an extension of party scion Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra.
“(After coming to power) we will give development funds for your area. We will also consider the idea of local party leaders to build a Ram temple in 100 constituencies with Rs 10 crore each and a total of Rs 1,000 crore, on the lines of the great Bhadrachalam temple here, to serve as inspiration for every youth. We will keep that sentiment in mind... we will definitely take up good programmes,” said Revanth late evening on Tuesday.
Telangana, which has 119 Assembly constituencies, will be going to polls later this year.
The state BJP has termed Revanth's endorsement of Lord Ram as an election time gimmick, “playing with the sentiments of Hindus.”
“The TPCC chief's promise shows the Congress's dubious character. While its central leadership had tried to create impediments to Rama temple construction at Ayodhya, its Telangana leadership is now trying to cheat people by announcing Lord Ram temple buildings in 100 constituencies in Telangana,” said NV Subhash, Telangana BJP spokesperson.
Revanth had also accused Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of “disregarding his own promise of developing Bhadrachalam Sri Rama temple with Rs 100 crore.”
“This is the land where Lord Rama walked. Due to the BRS negligence, Bhadrachalam, which has such a great history, is losing its identity. From the Nizams to today's rulers, there was a tradition of offering Talambralu to Lord Rama but KCR rejected the age-old practice. He also failed to develop the Ram temple with Rs 100 crore,” Revanth said.