Ram temple issue bounces back in poll-bound UP

Ayodhya's development will get a big push from the Rs 150 crore allotted for developing a museum, which is to be located 15 km from the site where the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992.

Ayodhya, Oct 18: Despite assertions that "Ramayana museum" being planned for the communally-sensitive town of Ayodhya "is not the political agenda" of BJP, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma today said fortunate are those who get a chance to do "Ram ka kaam" (serve Ram).

"If anyone gets a chance to work for Bhagwan Ram he is most fortunate...it will be good fortune if Bhagwan Ram gives us a chance to do 'Ram ka kaam' and this responsibility has been given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the people of the country," he said during his visit here to inspect the proposed site for setting up a Ramayana musuem.

Referring to the ideals propagated in Ramayana, Sharma said that in certain areas the hands of the Centre were tied.

"All proposals of development which have to be passed by the Centre have to come from states...sometimes our hands are also tied...this problem will also be taken care of soon."Mann ban chuka hai, mahaul ban chuka hai, the beginning has been made and we have got the directives from Ram Lala," he said, adding, "We are the Lord's children and so have to do his work of spreading education."

Sharma, Union Tourism Minister, said Ayodhya's development will get a big push from the Rs 150 crore allotted for developing a museum, which is to be located 15 km from the site where the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, triggering deadly communal riots across the country.

Right wing organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Prashad say a temple must be built where the mosque once stood, because that is the exact spot where Lord Ram was born.

While campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stressed on development and economic growth, and his government has avoided giving hardliners within the party licence to talk of constructing a new temple.

The sprawling Ramayana museum, which will present the life of the deity as portrayed in sage Valmiki's epic, will be spread across 25 acres.

PTI