The issue of Ram Temple is an issue of faith and not about a piece of land and that the temple will soon come up at Ayodhaya , BJP's official spokesperson Sambit Patra told a excited gathering at the India Today Conclave at Mumbai in response to the AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi's statement that the people's religious faith was less important before the court then the issue of title suit in the Ayodhaya case.Participating in a discussion on " Ayodhaya : Politics of Hate ' Patra , Owaisi and Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam sent the temperatures soaring at the Conclave as they presented their divergent view before the people with their vigour, logic and powerful one liners .' Between Freedom of equality and religious faith it is the former that will prevail before the court if one goes by jurisprudence ', Owaisi said. Both Owaisi and Patra wanted the verdict on Ayodhyaya to come after the 2019 polls to prevent the issue from being politicised prompting Patra to say that the two political parties feared the political impact of the verdict.
Sparks indeed started flying when Nirupam said that Ayodhaya was purely a political issue for the BJP to be milked for political purposes and that it would prolong the issue as much as possible so that it can play politics on it before coming up with a one liner : For BJP it is " Ram Mandir Vahin Banayanege Par Tariq Nahin Batayenge '. He also accused the two parties of playing a friendly political match for the sake of votes.Owaisi accused the the Congress of sacrificing secularism saying it was the Congress which was in power When idols were kept inside a small temple in 1948, Locks were opened in 1986 and the Babri masjid was demolished in 1992. Patra on the other hand accused Owaisi of paying only lip service to the sanctity of the SC when the latter said that only acourt verdict could decide the issue while rejecting the suggestion that the Muslims should support the construction of the temple on the spot for a lasting solution to the vexed issue. Patra cited Owaisi's recent speech in Hyderabad in which he said that the judiciary had no right to decide on the issues to do with Muslim's personal law.The discussion remained hot till the last minute of the event thus indicating the shape of the political road map on the issue on the eve of the 2019 polls - Ends
IDEAS GENERATED IN THE SESSION:
Ram temple is an issue of land title as well as faith but the issue of faith and feelings cannot stand in the court.
Lord Ram cannot divide the country though political parties differ on the issue.
Everyone should accept the verdict of Supreme Court whatever it is.
There is no need to pressurise the judiciary in the issue.
Both the ruling party and the Opposition parties have interests in the Ram temple issue either to be sorted out or kept pending in view of the general elections.
India Today Conclave
Started as part of India Today’s 25th anniversary, INDIA TODAY CONCLAVE was designed as a meeting point for the best minds from India and around the world to map the geopolitical and economic future of the country. In its inaugural year the theme was India Tomorrow 2002: Opportunities and Threats with Vice President of the USA Al Gore as the chief Guest. In its second year the theme was India Tomorrow 2003: Global Giant or Pygmy? The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States presided as the keynote speaker. The past 14 conclaves have been widely acclaimed and popular for the quality of speakers and discussion. The speakers who have been part of this conference each year are current and former heads of state, Nobel Laureates, spiritual leaders, industry captains, social workers, economists, authors, academics, scientist, strategists, activists, cine directors, actors and sportspersons. The past conferences can be accessed at www.indiatodayconclave.com