Aurangabad: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Imtiaz Jaleel said on Friday that he was not opposed to the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, but the `bhumi pujan’ should have been deferred in view of coronavirus.
Bhumi pujan ceremony
The bhumi pujan or ground-breaking ceremony for the temple is slated for August 5.
“We absolutely do not have any objection to the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. But we have issue with the time chosen for the ground-breaking ceremony,” the Aurangabad MP said here.
Claiming that health infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh is poor, Jaleel said though the BJP had said that only about 200 persons would attend the ceremony, the police would also be deployed at the spot in large number as important personalities would be arriving.
If this ceremony which would take two hours is allowed, why ordinary devotees can not pray at temples or offer namaz at mosques (due to lockdown restrictions) which takes very little time, he asked.
“Do the people going to Ayodhya have reached any kind of understanding with the pandemic or the virus will go on holiday during this period?” he asked.
“Some BJP leaders say that we have waited for 492 years for this moment. But if they have waited for centuries, they can wait for another couple of months,” Jaleel said.
Bakrid: Advise of Maha Vikas Aghadi Govt.
He also criticised the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra for advising the Muslim community to carry out `symbolic sacrific’ on Bakri Eid instead of real animal sacrifice in view of the pandemic.
“It’s not about Eid alone but all upcoming festivals.
The government cannot be so rigid,” he said.