Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia pointed out how unfortunate he found the fact that while people at Japan University were trying to come up with a concept to run cars with hydrogen, people in India are still debating about the caste of Lord Hanuman.
With calls for Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya gaining momentum, Manish Sisodia has offered a solution. He suggests that a university should be built at Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi site in Uttar Pradesh. He believes that it is through education and not the construction of a grand temple, true ‘Ram Rajya’ can be brought about.
“Ask both Hindus and Muslims and if both the communities agree, then build a university there. Let children of Hindus, Muslims and Christians… Indians as well as foreigners come and study there together. Ram Rajya (reign) won’t be created through any temple, but through education,” Sisodia told NDTV, making the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) stand on Ram Mandir debate clear.
Education is the solution
Sisodia, also the Education Minister of Delhi, also said that the only way to end caste politics in India is through education. Education has been marked as a priority by the Arvind Kejriwal government, which has been taking up programmes to improve schools’ infrastructure and employing more teachers.
As reported by NDTV, youngsters in Ayodhya claimed that jobs and education are more important for them than mandir and masjid. They further said that the development mantra of BJP has not reached their city.
“If Ayodhya is developed, bigger companies will come here. We will get jobs and our lives will change. We deserve that,” said Syed Dildar Rizvi, a student of English Literature at the Saket College in Ayodhya.
Sisodia slams political parties
Accusing political parties of spreading casteism at university levels, he said that while they talk about ‘Digital India’, their actions resemble that of Vijay Mallya. He also slammed the political parties for “appointing Vice Chancellors subscribing to Hindutva who try to impose it on the students”, said a report by The Indian Express.
Sisodia further said that for the Lok Sabha elections scheduled in 2019, the AAP will focus on all of Delhi’s Lok Sabha seats. “We will also keep our focus on Punjab and Haryana for the 2019 elections,” he said.
Slamming the Sheila Dikshit-led government of not doing any work in Delhi, his parties were being forced to “struggle a lot to get work done now”.
Rally in Delhi by the RSS
Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) took out a rally in Delhi on Saturday, pushing for the Ram temple construction, with Kar Sevaks chanting “Jai Shree Ram” and “Mandir Yahin Banayenge” on their way. On December 9, the nine-day yatra will come to an end at the Ramlila Ground.
BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya claimed that only the BJP had the guts to construct the Ram temple at Ayodhya. “We would appeal to the court once again for a verdict on the issue. When a matter is in court, we should not be in a hurry and give it enough time to take a decision,” Vijayvargiya said.
Uttar Pradesh government announces Ram statue details
Last week, at an event organized by the Shiv Sena in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was dared by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to announce a date for the Ram temple construction beginning.
Soon after that, details of the Ram statue that the Uttar Pradesh government has planned to construct on the banks of the Sarayu river, which will be taller than Gujarat’s Statue of Unity.
Also Read: Seers Reject Yogi’s Ram Statue Plan, Say Build Temple Without Disturbing “Communal Harmony”
