Ayodhya, May 19: As Ayodhya gears up to vote for the first time after the Ram temple consecration, Muslim voters in the pilgrim town say “mandir-masjid” (temple-mosque) is not an issue for them and employment and development are their primary concerns.
Some, including Iqbal Ansari, who was a litigant in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, give the BJP “due credit” for the development of Ayodhya while others feel much needs to be done to ensure that the gains percolate to all parts of the temple town.
“When elections come, political leaders start remembering God, irrespective of their party. But people want health and education facilities and security,” Ansari told PTI.
“The BJP has done good work in Ayodhya and hence it should get the due credit. The BJP has an edge here. Though I do not have much interest in elections, I will definitely cast my vote on polling day,” he said.
Ansari said workers of political parties have been coming to his house to seek his vote and the BJP was the first to approach him.
Ansari had earlier said that the BJP brought an end to the Ram temple issue.
The 55-year-old found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at a poll rally in Haryana’s Gohana on Saturday.
Hitting out at the Congress for giving the January 22 Ram temple consecration ceremony a miss, Modi had said, “They have so much hatred towards Lord Ram that they rejected the invitation (for consecration ceremony).”
Whereas Ansari, who fought against the Ram Mandir in court, attended the ceremony, the prime minister had said.
Ashfaq Hussain, a builder and government contractor associated with the BJP, asserted that Muslim women are with the party.
“The (Muslim) women have given a thumbs up (to the BJP) on the issue of triple talaq. Their response towards the BJP has been positive vis-a-vis triple talaq and the law and order situation in the state. A significant number of Muslims have got houses under the PM Awas Yojana in the Rudauli assembly segment of the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat.”
Bablu Khan, a local resident, feels that the “stream of development is flowing in Ayodhya”.
The people of Ayodhya are satisfied and sitting Faizabad BJP MP Lallu Singh will return for a third term.
