Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday repeatedly asked a rally in Chhattisgarh whether a Ram temple should be built or not and accused the Congress of obstructing the shrine’s construction for 70 years, revealing a plan of stir up a narrative around Ayodhya ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP leader invited the crowd in the Congress-ruled state to the inauguration of the temple in Ayodhya in January. “Tell me if a temple to Lord Ram in Ayodhya should be built or not? Tell me loudly...,” Shah asked the rally, part of the BJP’s outreach drive to mark nine years of the Modi government.

“For 70 years, the Congress tried to delay and obstruct the construction of the temple, which Babar had demolished. One fine morning, Modiji went and performed bhumi pujan for the Ram temple. And now, you youths keep your tickets ready for a darshan of Ramlalla (infant Ram) at the Ram temple in January,” Shah added amid loud cheers.

The under-construction Ram temple at Ayodhya is set to be declared open to the common people after the consecration of the idol of infant Lord Ram by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January.

Shah accused the Congress of “insulting Lord Ram” for its “vote bank” and hailed Modi for extending honour to Lord Ram by building a grand temple at the place where he was born.

The BJP, according to sources, plans to use the temple opening to build a religious narrative in the country to sweep aside burning issues in the run-up to the general election.

The BJP has been undertaking a month-long outreach to mark nine years of the Modi government and Shah has been leading from the front to address rallies in key states. On Thursday as Modi toured the US, Shah addressed rallies in Chhattisgarh, where polls are due towards the end of this year.

Apart from the Ram temple, Shah harped on other polarising issues like “teaching a lesson to Pakistan” with surgical and air strikes and the scrapping of Article 370 provisions in Jammu and Kashmir. “The Congress had nursed Article 370 like a baby in its lap. Modiji scrapped it in one stroke on August 5, 2019,” Shah said.

Shah sought to pitch Rahul Gandhi as the Opposition’s prime ministerial candidate for 2024 and asked the crowd who they wanted as the next Prime Minister.

“The Congress is pushing hard to make Rahul Gandhi the next PM. I want to ask you, who should be the next PM?” Shah asked. As the crowd shouted “Modi”, Shah sought a louder response.

He credited Modi with transforming the country in the last nine years and stressed how chants of “Modi, Modi” can be heard wherever the Prime Minister was going.

“Recently, Modiji went to attend the G7 meeting. There, the US President sought the autograph of our PM. Some touch his (Modi’s) feet while some others seek appointment for meeting our PM,” Shah said, pointing out that Modi was being extended a grand welcome in the US.