BJP indulges in political gimmick on Ram Mandir opening: Ponnam

Karimnagar: Backward class welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar lambasted BJP leaders and said that they were acting in a manner that gave the impression that Gods belonged to them only in the country.

“BJP leaders are doing political marketing gimmicks for their gains and it should stop immediately,” Prabhakar said.

He along with his family members and Congress Vemulawada MLA Aadi Srinivas was on a visit to the famous Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy temple at Vemulawada in Rajanna Sircilla district on Sunday.

The minister was accorded a warm welcome by the temple authorities and he along with his family members offered special prayers on the eve of Sankranti festival.

On the sidelines of his visit to the temple, Prabhakar said that a meeting will be convened with members of the Vemulawada Temple Development Authority (VTDA) before the Mahashivaratri festival and all necessary steps will be taken for the development of Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Temple.

Delving into the history of excavation work which began at Ram Janambhoomi Ayodhya, the minister said the digging work at the site began and it was ordered by the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure. “But the BJP has been using Gods to survive in politics. There are four Jagad Gurus (seers) in the country. Instead of inaugurating the newly-constructed the Mandir at Ayodhya by them, the saffron party wants to draw political mileage and thattoo when the Lok Sabha elections are coming closer. Besides, the temple at Ayodhya will be thrown open for devotees when the construction of the structure has been still going on. The BJP has been doing it without the completion of construction. The saffron party is using the event to gain political mileage,” he alleged, adding that it will not be good to inaugurate the temple without completing the construction work.

Replying to Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s remarks about the Congress government in Telangana state will collapse after the Lok Sabha elections, Prabhakar alleged that he knew that Sanjay Kumar failed in Intermediate examination, but was not aware of when he completed his graduation in astrology. It was showing that “how senseless” Bandi Sanjay is, he said.