Babri mosque demolished in 17 mins, how long will govt take for temple ordinance: Sanjay Raut
Ayodhya (UP), Nov 23: A day before Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray arrives here, the party raised the pitch over the Ram temple issue, with its leader Sanjay Raut asking the government as to how long it will take to bring an ordinance to build temple at the site where the Babri mosque was "demolished in 17 minutes by Ram bhakts".
"The Babri mosque was demolished in 17 minutes... in about half an hour what needed to be done was done by the Ram bhakts...the blot which was there since years was brought down ," Raut told reporters, referring to the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
"How long does it take to prepare papers... to bring ordinance... from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to Uttar Pradesh Assembly. They are all BJP governments," the Shiv Sena leader said.
Earlier today, the Sena, which is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) but has had strained ties with ally BJP, demanded that the central government come out with an ordinance and declare a date for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will visit Ayodhya tomorrow amid a clamour among Hindu outfits for bringing an ordinance to build Ram Temple.
Shiv Sena, which is the part of the BJP-led governments in both Maharashtra and the Centre, has been aggressively pushing for the construction of Ram temple since the party's annual Dussehra rally.
The party has often taunted its ally BJP over the latter's "failure" to construct the temple in the last four years despite coming to power.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamna', the Sena said it neither moves around with a begging bowl asking for votes in the name of Lord Ram nor does it indulge in "jumlebaazi" (rhetoric) during polls.
"Why did those, who call themselves pro-Hindutva, start getting a stomach ache when we announced our plans of going to Ayodhya? We are not going there for political purposes," it said.
While slamming the BJP, the Sena said those in power should be proud of Shiv Sainiks who had "destroyed Babur's raj in Ram Janmabhoomi". The Babri Masjid was built in Ayodhya on the orders of Mughal emperor Babur.
It claimed the party had not given the slogan "Chalo Ayodhya", but Shiv Sainiks were going there for Lord Ram's 'darshan' and also because Ayodhya is "nobody's private place".
"There is no Ram raj there now, but the raj of the Supreme Court. However, in 1992, Balasaheb's Shiv Sainiks had destroyed Babur's raj in Ram Janmabhoomi. Instead of being scared and jealous of such Sainiks, those in power should be proud of them," the Sena editorial claimed.
It said that instead of casting aspersions on the motive of Sainiks going to Ayodhya, the government should declare a date for the construction of the temple and put all suspicions to rest.
Vishva Hindu Parishad's 'dharam sabha' (religious conclave) is also slated to be held here on Sunday, which, the outfit claims, is likely to be attended by about one lakh people.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
ED searches: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses Centre of targeting Cong leaders
Chamarajanagara (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday accused the central government and its agencies of consistently targeting Congress members by using searches on their properties, and questioned why similar action is not taken against BJP leaders.
He was reacting to searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate on Monday on several individuals, among them the sons of Karnataka Congress MLA N A Haris and the grandson of former Union Cabinet minister K Rahman Khan, in connection with a cryptocurrency-linked money laundering case.
"The central government always targets Congress leaders. Will they raid the houses of BJP leaders?" Siddaramaiah said in response to a question. More than a dozen premises in the city were searched as part of the operation carried out by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The premises searched comprised those of Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad, the sons of the MLA; Aqeeb Khan, the grandson of veteran Congress leader K Rahman Khan; and an alleged crypto hacker, Srikrishna Ramesh, alias Sriki, officials said.
The money laundering case stems from Karnataka Police FIRs and charge sheets filed in a 2017 case involving the hacking of national and international websites, theft of bitcoins, and the sale of these stolen virtual digital assets (VDAs) through crypto platforms by the alleged hacker Sriki and his associates.
Mohammed Haris Nalapad, Omar Farook Nalapad, and Aqeeb Khan are alleged to be beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime generated through this crypto-linked activity, officials added.
