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Thackeray irked by Muslims' loyalty to SP, calls for Ram temple in Ayodhya

In a change of stance, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has said he would insist on constructing the Ram mandir at the controversial site in Ayodhya if Muslims continued to treat the Samajwadi Party as a party of Muslims and vote for it in elections.

Addressing an election rally on Saturday at Kannad, the assembly segment where his party candidate Subhas Patil is contesting the by-election, Thackeray said the Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government had been fulfilling the various demands of Muslims whenever they were put before it, and asked why the Muslims voted for SP led by Mulayam Singh Yadav who was playing politics in the name of secularism.

Thackeray said he had earlier suggested a national memorial for freedom-fighter Mangal Pande in Ayodhya, but since the Muslims were not happy with the alliance government, he would set aside his earlier suggestion and insist on constructing the Ram mandir at Ayodhya.

Referring to the suicides by farmers in the state, Thackeray blamed the Congress for the incidents, saying that the cooperative banks controlled by Congress leaders were forcing the farmers to repay loans with interest during the tough times the farmers have been facing.

Regarding the law and order situation in the state, he said during the Sharad Pawar government, five legislators were killed and nobody had charged him (Pawar) with breakdown in law and order. However, the alliance government was being blamed for failure in maintaining law and order in the state where no communal riots took place since last three years.

UNI

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