Amit Shah bats for Ram Temple construction at MP rally, says it should be built in Ayodhya

With the issue of Ram Temple gaining popularity amid the assembly elections' campaigning, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Monday said that the Temple should be constructed at Ayodhya itself.

Speaking at a roadshow in poll-bound state of Madhya Pradesh, Shah said, "We believe that grand Ram Mandir should be constructed at that place (in Ayodhya) only."

Shah's comment comes after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray visited Ayodhya and demanded a date for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. 

Thackeray, on his visit to the holy city, addressed various gatherings and asked to finalise the date for construction of Ram Temple.  Thackeray said "first tell us when will the construction of temple start, and then we can talk about the rest," the Shiv Sena chief added.

"Humein aaj mandir banne ki tareekh chahiye. Pehle mandir kab banaoge wo batao, baaki baatein to baad me hoti rahengi. Aaj mujhe tareekh chahiye," Thackeray said. 

Meanwhile, Shah has been addressing various rallies in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh. In one of his rallies at Kukshi, Shah took a jibe at Congress and said that leaders of the Rahul Gandhi-led party are ashamed of saying "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". He also asked the opposition party to give details of its performance when it was in power, before asking the BJP to give a report of its four-and-a-half year governance.

"I happened to know an incident from Rajasthan where a Congress worker wanted to give the slogan 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', but he was interrupted and made to say 'Sonia Gandhi Ki Jai'," Shah claimed.

"This shows what is more important to a Congress leader... They are ashamed of giving out such slogans," Shah added.

Continuing his attack against the Congress leadership, he said, "Rahul baba (Congress chief) asks us to give a report of our four-and-a-half year's of performance. He and his family have been in power for four-and-a-half generations. They should be the first one to talk about their performances."

Lauding the development work undertaken by MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Shah said the state government had brought huge reforms in the agriculture sector but "the figures are deliberately ignored by Congress leaders".

"During the Congress regime, farmers used to get Rs 1,300 crore in the form of crop loans but Chouhan managed to increase the crop credit coverage to Rs 13,000 crore," he claimed.

The campaign for the state polls ends Monday evening and voting will take place on Wednesday.