Demonetisation happened instantly, why not Ram Mandir: Thackeray asks BJP

Mumbai, July 14: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday asked if the demonetisation decision could be taken so quickly, why is the decision on building Ram Temple in Ayodhya still pending.

"They (BJP) talk about building a Ram Mandir, bringing Uniform Civil Code and repealing section 370 in Jammu and Kashmir before the election, but which election, 2019 or 2050, they do not specify," Thackeray told reporters after a meeting of party leaders.

"The way you (the BJP government) took the decision of noteban instantly, you can take the decision to build the Ram Mandir instantly, because you have a majority," said Thackeray, whose party often spars with the BJP despite being an ally.

So far, development was the BJP's agenda but now it has been replaced by the Ram Mandir issue, he said further.

It was reported that on Friday, BJP president Amit Shah said that construction of the grand Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh will start before the 2019 elections. Shah made the promise of building the temple soon during his one-day visit to Hyderabad.

In a meeting with his party leaders in the city, Shah said that steps will be taken to clear the decks for launching construction of the temple before the polls, stated a report by IANS.

The BJP, however, denied that Shah had made any such remarks on the Ram temple issue.

"Yesterday in Telangana, BJP President Shri Amit Shah didn't make any statement on the issue of Ram Mandir as being claimed in certain sections of the media. No such matter was even on the agenda," the BJP said on twitter.