A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, All India Imam Association President Sajid Rashidi made a provocative statement. He asserted that Babri Masjid was not built after demolishing a temple but the temple will now be demolished to rebuild it.
Speaking to ANI, the Muslim leader said, "Islam says a mosque will always be a mosque. It can't be broken to build something else. We believe it was, and always will be a mosque. Mosque wasn't built after demolishing temple but now maybe temple will be demolished to build mosque."
Sajid Rashidi's statement did not go down well with the Twitter users. Supreme Court advocate Prashant Umrao tagged Uttar Pradesh Police in a tweet and wrote, "This maulana Sajid Rashidi is threatening to demolish Ram Mandir. He is creating rift between communities and He is threat for Law and Order. Kindly take action against him."
BJP leader Suresh Nakhua said, "This after unanimous verdict by Hon' SC. Someone rightly said "Secularism is a myth".
Here are a few Twitter reactions:
On Wednesday, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for going to the 'Bhoomi Poojan' ceremony of the Ram Mandir and alleged that PM has laid the foundation not only of a temple, but also of 'Hindu Rashtra'.
Owaisi also said that the day marked the victory of "majoritarianism over liberty and equality".
"The Prime Minister of India going over there and attending this 'Bhoomi Poojan'...today is a victory of Hindutva over secularism. Today is a victory of majoritarianism over liberty and equality," he said.
"By attending, the Prime Minister has not only laid the foundation of a Mandir, but also the foundation of a Hindu Rashtra, of making this country a theological country which goes against the basic structure of the Constitution," Owaisi alleged.