Pune, Jan 16: 'Shilanyas' for a Ram temple at Ayodhya was conducted when Rajiv Gandhi was the country's prime minister and the BJP and RSS are doing politics on the issue, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday.

The veteran leader was speaking at a public meeting at Nipani in Karnataka.

A consecration ceremony would be performed at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

"The shilanyas (laying of first stone) was conducted during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure, but today the BJP and RSS are doing politics in the name of Lord Ram," Pawar said.

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertaking an 11-day fast ahead of the consecration ceremony, Pawar said, "I respect his faith in Ram, but had he decided to observe a fast to eliminate poverty, people would have appreciated it."

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Jamshedpur (PTI): One person was arrested on the charge of raping a 30-year-old woman with speech impairment in Jamshedpur, a police officer said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the Azadnagar police station area of the city, and a case in this regard was registered based on the statement of the victim's brother on Monday.

The victim had gone to fetch water from the premises of a company on Monday evening. When she did not return even after a considerable time, family members went out in search of her and caught the accused red-handed, police said.

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The accused was a caretaker of the company.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Patamda) Bachandeo Kujjur said due to scarcity of water in the area, the victim used to fetch water from the premises of the company.