Article 370, Ram Janmabhoomi would remain disputes if we worked like Congress: PM Modi

New Delhi: The Central Government yesterday made the first donation of Re. 1 to the ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra’ Trust to begin its work of constructing the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, officials said.

D. Murmu, an Under Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, contributed the amount to the Trust on behalf of the Central Government. The Trust will accept donations, grants, subscriptions, aids or contribution from any person in cash, kind, including immovable properties, without any conditions, the official said.

The Trust will initially function from the residence of senior lawyer K. Parasaran but will look for a permanent office later, the official said.

Meanwhile, in a sharp attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Parliament today that if his Government had followed the same path and pace as the past 70 years, Article 370 and Triple Talaq would not have gone, and the Ayodhya temple-mosque dispute would not have ended.

“There has been concern over why the Government is in a hurry to do things,” PM Modi said mockingly, addressing the Opposition benches in the Lok Sabha as he replied to a debate on the President’s address.

“If we had we followed your way, Triple Talaq would have still have exploited Muslim women. A law to hang juvenile rapists wouldn’t have been drafted. Had we worked the way you did, Ram Janmabhoomi would still have been under dispute, Kartarpur Corridor could have never been built if we worked the way you did, we could have never solved border dispute with Bangladesh,” the PM said. 

“Even you know that if someone can deliver, it is the Modi government. I take these questions like inspirations and would like to specially thank the Opposition for this,” the PM said. “There is one work that we will never do and never let it happen is to allow your (Opposition’s) unemployment to end,” he added. 

Modi also used his address to reach out to different sections against the backdrop of the ongoing protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).