Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday purportedly asked the Bengal BJP’s social media and IT cell to expedite its campaign on the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Ram temple on January 22 amid much fanfare.

During a meeting with around 1,500 social media and IT cell workers from across the state at the National Library here, Shah explained how to conduct a campaign highlighting the Ram temple inauguration.

“The Opposition used to say that the date of inauguration of the Ram temple will not be disclosed. We openly announced the date, January 22, when Modiji will open the doors for the devotees. The Opposition, including Trinamul, was against setting up of the temple. We feel proud that the temple has been almost completed and will be inaugurated by Modiji,” a source present in the meeting quoted Shah as saying.

The BJP plans to telecast the inauguration of the Ram temple and inaugural speech by Narendra Modi live across the state. The saffron ecosystem has taken up a drive to reach out to at least 50 lakh householders from January 1 to 15 with invitation cards for the inauguration of the Ram temple.

Shah said the BJP would depend on social media cells for the campaign in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and listed several issues against Trinamul, including “corruption”, and urged the promotion of central welfare schemes.

“The level of corruption during the tenure of Didi (Mamata Banerjee) has reached such a level that people of Bengal have started saying that the Communists were better....,” a source quoted Shah.

Shah also asked for a wider social media campaign on the narrative that the
Modi government did not deprive Bengal of welfare schemes.