Hyderabad: Former BJP MP Balbir Punj, citing Mahatma Gandhi’s article in Young India said that he would have agreed with the demolition of Babri Mosque.
“In 1925, Gandhi was asked what to do if a mosque was forcibly built on someone’s land. He said that if ‘A’ was in possession of a piece of land and someone built a structure on it, be it even a mosque, ‘A’ has the right to pull it down,” Punj said.
During a launch of his book called “Tryst with Ayodhya: Decolonisation of India” on Saturday, March 2, he said India cannot exists if Lord Ram is fictitious.
“This country will live till Ram lives,” he added.
While alleging that the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru politicized the Ram Janmabhoomi, Punj said, “It was a Hindu-Muslim issue in the post-Indepence era,” asking as to why “Hindus were not provided 2.77 acres of land to build a temple whereas a separate country (Pakistan) was formed after some Muslims demanded it.”
The former MP claimed that the only reason for Congress’ boycott of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple was because, “Muslims constitute 55% of the population in Rahul Gandhi’s constituency, Wayanad.”
Further, he called the overturning of Shah Bano’s verdict a ‘blunder,’ and claimed that the banning of Salman Rushidie’s book “Satanic Verses” made Indian Muslims aware of the circumstances of aggression on the streets.
Former DGP of undivided Andhra Pradesh Aravinda Rao was the chief guest at the book launch event. He remarked that Punj’s book was a ‘timely’ one. While alleging that Nehru did not respect Sanatan Dharma, he said, “It was his poor understanding of our traditions.”
Bhartiya Dharma Rakshana Samakhya chairman T Hanuman Chowdary was also present at the event. He claimed that 3,000 mosques across India were constructed on temple lands. “The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should be tasked with identifying such temples,” he said.
