Mumbai, July 19: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after reports surfaced that the PM would visit Ayodhya for Ram Temple’s “Bhoomi Pujan”. Pawar said that some people think that corona will go by building a temple. He said that at present coronavirus is the biggest threat and both Centre and State governments should form a strategy to deal with it. Ram Temple Construction in Ayodhya: PM Narendra Modi May Lay Foundation Stone on August 5, Say Reports.

The NCP chief added that the government should also focus on improving the economy, which has been ravaged by the lockdown. Pawar stated, “We are thinking of how to fight the battle against #Coronavirus while some people think that corona will go by building a temple, there might be a reason behind it. But our priority is to see how to improve the economy which has been affected due to lockdown.” Ayodhya Verdict: Full Text of Supreme Court Judgment in Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi Title Dispute.

Sharad Pawar's Statement:

Earlier in the day reports surfaced that PM Modi would be visiting Ayodhya on August for “Bhoomi Pujan” of Ram Temple. The construction of the temple will start officially soon after the ceremony. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has set a 2024 deadline to complete the construction of the temple.

Meanwhile, during a meeting which was held on July 18, the trust decided that the proposed Ram temple here in Uttar Pradesh would have a height of 161 feet along with five domes. The president of the trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal, presided over the meeting here on Saturday. All members of the trust were present in this meeting that continued for over 2 hours, and all the points regarding the construction of the temple were discussed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 19, 2020 08:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).