The Shiv Sena has rapped the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) saying that the construction of the Ram temple should not be politicised.
Mocking statements by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who had recently vowed that a Ram temple would be built before he dies, the mercurial Sanjay Raut asked the 65-year-old Sarsanghchalak of the Hindutva organisation to provide a date for the construction of the temple.
"We also want that the Ram temple should be constructed but they should give a definite timeframe for the same," ANI quoted Raut as saying. Raut added: "The elections in Uttar Pradesh are approaching. If the Ram temple is made a political issue then the people won't forgive us. The people should not be deceived on this matter."
"The temple will be built within my lifetime. May be, we will see it with our own eyes. None can say when and how the temple will be constructed, but we need to be prepared and ready," Bhagwat had said.
"We need to plan it carefully. A good mix of 'josh' (passion) and 'hosh' (sanity) is needed to complete the work which Ram (Kothari) and Sharad (Kothari) had initiated," DNA quoted him as saying.
Ram and Sharad Kothari, 23 and 21 year old brothers, were shot by the police while performing the kar seva (a offering service typically for the construction of a place of worship) in 1990 in Ayodhya.
