Babri Masjid systematically taken away from Muslims, says Owaisi ahead of Pran Pratishtha

Asaduddin Owaisi. Pic/AFP

As barely a day left for the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi continues to challenge the narrative of the Ram Janmabhommi Temple, claiming that Babri Masjid was a systematically taken over from Indian Muslims as they used to offer prayers there for over 500 years.

Speaking to reporters in Karnataka's Kalaburagi on Saturday Owaisi said, "Muslims offered namaz in Babri Masjid for 500 years. When Congress' GB Pant was the CM of Uttar Pradesh, idols were placed inside the masjid... Nair was the collector of Ayodhya at that time. He shut the masjid and started worshipping over there and later in 1950's he become the first parliamentarian of Jan Sangh."

Further getting into the course of events that allegedly led to the demolition of Babri Masjid and later the construction of Ram Mandir Owaisi targeted that time government and questioned them.

"Ram Mandir did not exist when VHP was formed. Mahatma Gandhi never mentioned anything about Ram Mandir. Very systematically, Babri Masjid has been taken away from Indian Muslims... Had GB Pant removed those idols back then and gate were not opened in 1986 had the Masjid not been demolished in 1992, we wouldn't have to see things how they are today. There are our questions but no one is answering them," he added.

Questioning secularism of AAP led Delhi government and INDIA alliance Owaisi said, those who claims of them of being secular are saying that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who is also in the INDIA alliance says that we will organise Sunderkand Paath and Hanuman Chalisa every Tuesday in government schools, does a school has a religion but nobody speaks anything about this because they are all busy targeting the votes of the majority community."

The Pran Pratishta ceremony will be held in Ayodhya on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with several other leaders will attend the event. Several celebrities and noted personalities have also been invited to the ceremony.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform rituals to mark the Pran Pratishtha of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22. A team of priests led by Lakshmikant Dixit will perform the main rituals of the Pran Prathistha of Ram Lalla on January 22.

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