Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday reminded home minister Amit Shah that his job was to enforce the rule of law in the country and that he was not a priest from Ayodhya to invite people to worship in the Ram temple.

“Amit Shah is announcing that the Ram temple will be ready on January 1, 2024. The Ram temple is a matter of personal faith for everybody. Who are you to talk about it at an election rally in Tripura? Aap pujari ho, mahant ho (Are you a priest? The mahant of that temple)? Let the temple trusts and mahants talk about the date of the temple’s opening. Your job is to enforce the rule of law, to keep the country safe,” Kharge told a mammoth public meeting at Panipat in the course of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Shah had at an election rally in Tripura on Thursday recalled how Prime Minister Narendra Modi had performed the bhoomi pujan for the construction. Shah then declared that the temple would be ready on January 1, 2024.

Rahul Gandhi addresses the meeting in Panipat on Friday during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. PTI picture

Before announcing the date and inviting people to book their tickets to Ayodhya, he especially asked Rahul Gandhi to pay attention to what he was going to say — making the political intent clear.

Kharge said: “They can say anything for votes and later dismiss it as election jumla (rhetoric). They will keep doing it as long as the people digest it.”

The Congress president added: “There is a saying – munh mein Ram, bagal mein chhuri (Ram on lips, knife in hand). These people are roaming around with knives. They are creating discord in society, creating rifts between castes and communities.”

The message was clear: the BJP-RSS did not follow Ram’s values of truth and justice although they chanted his name.

“The BJP leaders Modi-Shah are obsessed with elections. They are not concerned with people’s problems,” Kharge said. “Their sole concern is how to win elections and grab power. They will make any false promise to win – two crore jobs, Rs 15 lakh to everybody. Bhagwan ka naam lekar itna jhooth bolte hain. Ye jhooth ke sardar hain (They chant God’s name and tell such lies. They are a master of lies). No other Prime Minister told lies,” Kharge said.

Explaining the aim of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Kharge said: “Everybody is surprised by Rahul Gandhi’s determination and courage as he walks through the country in the heat, rain and cold. Why is he doing it? Not for politics, not for elections. It is about people’s miseries. The youth have never suffered such unemployment; prices are tormenting the poor. Modi-Shah aren’t worried about these things. All they know is how to win elections. They have done nothing for the country; never made any sacrifices.”

Addressing the rally, Rahul highlighted the inequality in the country. In a country of 140 crore citizens, 100 people controlled half the wealth, he said. As much as 90 per cent of all profits went to 20 companies, he added, returning to a point he has often made — that the Modi government has destroyed the small and medium industries that gave jobs to crores of people, creating an unemployment crisis never seen before.

Arguing that all the major initiatives of the Modi government — the demonetisation, a flawed GST, Agnipath, farm laws — had created fear in the country, he said: “They call themselves deshbhakt (patriots) and bring in schemes like Agnipath that will not only weaken the army but destroy the careers of millions of youths. Earlier, when a soldier sacrificed his life for the country, his family was taken care of. Now the state will forget you after four years, not even pension will be given.”

Haryana sends a large number of youths to the armed forces, and the Agnipath scheme has caused deep disappointment and anger in the state. Rahul recalled that the protesting youths were threatened and silenced by the government.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Haryana on Friday after a hugely successful journey in Uttar Pradesh. The public rally in Panipat was huge, comparable to the big meetings in Kerala, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.