Talk of cooking gas and Ram Mandir can go hand in hand: Amit Shah

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah claimed that while the Central government has been working towards development, it will also ensure that Ram Mandir is built and the issue does not take a backseat.

In an interview to Times of India, Shah said: "After the demolition of the disputed structure, every manifesto mentions the Ram temple. There is no contradiction between reaching cooking gas to the poor and the Ram temple. Both can happen."

However, he said that the party is not using it as an issue to polarise voters as is being claimed by the Congress.

"Who asked for the construction of Ayodhya temple to be put off until after the 2019 polls? We didn't. It was the Congress leadership. Till Kapil Sibal sought dates beyond the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Ayodhya had not been mentioned in the campaign. So who polarised the election? We did not. Congress should be asked whose votes was it seeking to consolidate," Shah said.

Brushing aside Congress allegations that the popularity of Prime Minister Modi is diminishing, Shah said that the opposition is not able to accept the BJP's victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

"If someone sees victory in electoral defeat, particularly the opposition, then I do not have any problem. The numbers say we formed governments in both states, full majority in Gujarat and 2/3rd majority in Himachal. Those who see victory in their defeat need to answer when last did they get 49% vote in a state election? That is what BJP got in Gujarat and is a record of sorts," he added.

He also exuded confidence that the BJP will be able to do well in the upcoming assembly elections in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, and Karnataka. "In the north-east I have been visiting Tripura. We are on the streets, we will do well. I have been visiting Karnataka. I can say there is strong anti-incumbency and we are going to win," he claimed.