If we don't build Ram temple, country will stop trusting us: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that country will stop trusting them if they did not fulfil the promise of constructing Ram Temple in Ayodhya. He stated that the temple will be built soon as NDA has a majority in the Lok Sabha with 350 seats.

New Delhi: Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that people will 'beat them with shoes' if they did not fulfil the promise of constructing the Ram Temple this time.

"In 2014, we promised construction of the Ram temple but we did not accomplish it. The concluded election was also fought in the name of Lord Ram. Before elections, we went to Ayodhya with party chief Uddhav Thackrey ji. We have committed ourselves to the construction of the temple and I feel this time Ram Temple's construction will start. Because if we don't, the country will stop trusting us and people will beat us with shoes in anger," he said while speaking to media here.

Raut stated that the temple will be built soon as NDA has a majority in the Lok Sabha with 350 seats.

"Now BJP has 303 MPs, Shiv Sena has 18, NDA has more than 350, what more is needed to construct the temple?" he asked.

On May 27, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had hinted at stepping up efforts for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, saying "Ram's work has to be done."

"We have to do Ram's work and we will get it done. This is our work. Ram lives in us, so this is our work and we will do it ourselves. Even if we outsource it to somebody, we have to keep an eye," Bhagwat had said while addressing an event in Udaipur in Rajasthan.

RSS, the ideological mentor of BJP, has repeatedly called for the construction of Ram Temple at the disputed land in Ayodhya.

The BJP, in its election manifesto, had stated that it would "explore possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and take necessary steps to expedite construction of Ram temple."

In March, the court appointed a panel of mediators, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice FMI Kalifulla, and gave it eight weeks to meet all stakeholders and explore the possibility of an amicable settlement to the contentious issue.

The panel submitted the report on May 10 and the SC is expected to take up a decision in this regard.