‘Worship Babar, Afzal Guru’: BJP on Bihar minister’s barb on Ram Mandir

The BJP on Monday reacted to a Bihar minister’s jab at the party over January 22’s Ram Temple consecration ceremony, saying the Opposition must hang pictures of Babar and Afzal Guru and worship them.

Union minister Nityanand Rai, reacting to Bihar education minister Chandra Shekhar’s remark, said the country needs people like Captain Abdul Hamid, not Afzal Guru and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

“This (Ram Temple) is the path of cultural freedom. I don’t understand what enmity they have with Lord Ram and the Ram Temple that they are opposing it again and again. The intentions and policy that they are showing, it looks like they will hang pictures of Babar and Afzal Guru and worship them. The country needs Ashfaqulla Khan and Captain Hamid, not Babur, Afzal Guru or Jinnah’s ‘jinn’. Here, Lord Ram’s integrity is needed,” he said.

Earlier today, Bihar education minister and RJD leader Chandra Shekhar said more schools are needed in the country than temples. He was referring to the ceremony in Ayodhya later this month.

“If you get injured, where will you go? Temple or hospital? If you want education and want to become an officer, MLA, or MP, will you go to a temple or school? Fateh Bahadur Singh (RJD MLA) said the same thing that had been said by Savitribai Phule. What is wrong here? He quoted Savitribai Phule. Isn’t education necessary?…We should be cautious of pseudo-Hinduvaad and pseudo-nationalism,” he said.

“When Lord Ram resides in each one of us and everywhere, where will you go to look for him?…The sites that have been allocated have been made into sites of exploitation, used for filling the pockets of a few conspirators in society,” he added.

Babar was an emperor who established the Mughal empire in India.