“Are you the pujari of the Ram temple?” Kharge hits back at Shah after his Ram Temple dig  

A day after home minister Amit Shah blamed the Congress for hindering the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit back at Shah and reminded him of his constitutional duties.

"You are a politician, not a pujari (priest). Your duty is to protect the country, provide MSP (Minimum Support Price) to farmers. And not to make announcements on the temple," Kharge said at a rally in Haryana's Panipat on Friday. 

“There is an election in Tripura. (Amit) Shah goes there and says that the Ram Temple is being constructed and its inauguration is on (January) 1st. Everybody has faith in God but why are you announcing it during an election?” Kharge asked. 

“Are you the pujari of the Ram Temple? Are you the mahant of the Ram Temple? Let the mahants, sadhus, and saints talk about it. Who are you to talk about the opening of the temple?” questioned Kharge.  

Calling BJP leaders “liars” Kharge added, “They came to power promising two crore jobs, but those were empty promises. They also failed to keep the promise of the Rs. 15 lakhs."

On Thursday, Shah while addressing a rally in Tripura said that Congress hindered the construction of the Ram Temple.  

“The Ram Temple issue was being stalled by the Congress ever since independence. It was when PM Modi came to power that the Supreme Court gave its verdict and the construction of the temple began,” Shah said.  

Kharge hit back saying, “They (BJP) are roaming around with a dagger, dividing society and pitting castes and religions against each other.”  

Reiterating that the aim of the Bharat Jodo Yatra is to bridge this very divide, Kharge said, “The Yatra is not for votes. It is in the national interest, in your interest, this is in the interest of the farmers, the youth, women, and the Dalits.”