Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have consistently voiced their support for building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, and their demand has gathered momentum since the BJP swept to power in Uttar Pradesh, last month.
There are some BJP leaders who say that the Ram Temple should be built within the constitutional norms of the country, while others don't shy away from declaring that it will be constructed at any cost. On Saturday, Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said, "Ram Temple is a matter of belief for me and I have immense pride in it...if I have to go to jail for it I will go, if I have to hang myself for it I will do it."
But it is Thakur Raja Singh Lodh, the BJP legislator from Goshamahal in Hyderabad, who made the most shocking remark this week, declaring that those who oppose building the Ram Temple would be beheaded.
"Some people are saying that they will create ruckus if Ram Mandir is built in Ayodhya. I welcome the ones who are warning of dire consequences. We have been waiting for years to behead such traitors," he said at a public gathering in Hyderabad, ANI reported.
In 2015, the 39-year-old MLA kicked up a furor when he opposed the beef festival in Osmania University in Hyderabad. "We are ready to kill or get killed to protect cows. We have the right to stop cow killers. This festival is a political conspiracy for votes," he said.
The Babri Masjid case is currently pending in the Supreme Court, and the apex court recently said that the longstanding dispute should be resolved outside court.
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