Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday alleged the Congress had directed its leaders to “seal their lips” on the Ram temple, and warned that the country wouldn’t tolerate this “grave insult to our faith”.

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh promptly denied the allegation, accusing Modi of “living in a fantasy world” and “playing the politics of distraction”.

Modi’s claim directly injects religion into the campaign, a day after he had invoked “terror from small countries” from another election platform.

“A journalist just told me that the Congress has issued an advisory and asked party units that if there is any discussion on the Ram temple in Ayodhya, they should seal their lips and not say anything,” Modi told a rally in Churu, Rajasthan.

“Unko lagne laga hai agar Ram ka naam liya, pata nahi kab ‘Ram-Ram’ ho jaye (They have begun to realise that if they take the name of Ram, it may turn into a
goodbye).”

Ramesh posted: “The Prime Minister is now living in a fantasy world. He is tired of lying, misleading and playing the politics of distraction. He needs a rest.”

Modi’s use of the temple plank comes a day after former Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh defected to the BJP, attributing his decision partly to the Congress’s rejection of the invite to the January 22 Ram temple consecration.

Modi also attacked the Congress and its INDIA partners over alleged corruption, seeking to use the crowd as a people’s court of sorts.

“I want to ask you, shouldn’t action be taken against these people?” he asked.

As the crowd shouted “Yes”, Modi went on: “Aise logon ko jindagi jail me bitani chahiye ki nahi bitani chahiye (Should such people spend their lives in jail or not)?”

The crowd again shouted: “Yes.”

Modi said: “I want to tell these corrupt dynasts that no matter how much falsehood they spread, Modi is not going to be scared.”

The Prime Minister also sought to portray himself as a saviour of Muslim families, referring to the law against the instant triple talaq enacted by his government.

“Modi ne sirf Muslim behno ko nahi, sabhi Muslim pariwaron ki jindagi ko bachaya hai (Modi has saved not just the Muslim sisters but every Muslim family),” he said, elaborating on how the instant triple talaq had wrecked families.

Modi, who has been telling every rally that the last 10 years were just a “trailer”, repeated the claim at Churu while also portraying the period as an “appetiser”.

“Ye jo Modi ne kiya hai na, ye woh appetiser hai, abhi to puri thali aana baki hai (Whatever Modi has done till now is only the appetiser, the full course is yet to come),” he said, promising bigger decisions during what he believes would be his third term.