Rajeev Chandrasekhar slams Sam Pitroda over Ram Mandir remark, says it represents Rahul Gandhi’s thinking

Senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda's comments on Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, where he suggested that the temple construction should not be the main concern for India, have irked the Bharatiya Janata Party. It has accused the Congress leader and his party of practising 'appeasement politics'.

Reacting to Pitroda's comment, Union Minister and BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar said it reflects the mindset of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.

"Sam Pitroda is the prime example of how far removed Rahul's Congress is from the psyche of India. During UPA, Sam was a very powerful man and he was leading the prime minister's innovation council... the 2G scam happened then, and he was silent about that. On inflation and other economic issues, he had said 'what if there is some inflation'," Hindustan Times quoted Chandrasekhar as saying.

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"This is Sam Pitroda who is the mentor of Rahul Gandhi. A lot of it represents the thinking of Rahul Gandhi that Hindutva doesn't matter. Terrorism doesn't matter because of appeasement. Inflation and corruption don't matter because of crony capitalism. Hindu faith doesn't matter because of their appeasement politics," he added.

The consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is scheduled to take place on January 22, and several BJP stalwarts including Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the event.

The Supreme Court in 2019 allowed the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It also directed the authorities to provide separate land for a mosque.

What did Pitroda say?

While speaking to the news agency ANI, Pitroda said that the BJP should keep religion separate from politics.

"I have no problem with any religion. It is okay to go visit the temple once in a while, but you can't make that the main platform. 40 percent of the people vote for the BJP, and 60 percent of the people do not vote for the BJP. He is everybody's Prime Minister and not a party's Prime Minister and that's the message the people of India want him to have. Talk about employment, inflation, science and technology, and challenges. They (people) have to decide what are the real issues- is Ram Mandir the real issue? Or unemployment is a real issue. Is Ram Mandir the real issue or Inflation is a real issue?" he told ANI.

"Practise your religion but keep religion separate from politics," he added.

Pitroda on EVM:

Speaking on EVM, Pitroda urged the Congress and the INDIA bloc members to take the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) 'seriously', citing that the 2024 Lok Sabha election will decide the 'destiny of the nation'.

"I would request my party and the alliance members to take this matter very seriously. It is not a simple issue. Don't overlook it because the 2024 election will decide the destiny of the nation. It will decide the path that India going to take in the future. I see that democracy is undermined today. A PM of a country does not hold a press conference for 10 years, that bothers me. Prime Minister giving more time in the temple, that bothers me," he added.

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On PM's face:

On the PM face of the INDIA bloc, the senior Congress leader said that the election should be fought on an idea, not on any face or personality.

"The election should be fought on an idea. Who will safeguard the Constitution? Who will enhance your democracy? Who will provide jobs, care for your health, and infrastructure? This is not a presidential election. It is a Parliamentary election. So you don't have to have a face but have an idea. The idea is we want democracy, we want inclusion, diversity. These are the issues. It's not Modi vs somebody. INDIA alliance has many qualified people. Some are visible, some are not," Pitroda said.

With agency inputs.