Ram museum is tourism, not politics, says BJP minister ahead of Ayodhya tour

TIL Desk/National/UP/ The approaching elections in Uttar Pradesh have made the communally-sensitive town of Ayodhya a point of huge interest and activity again – and brought Lord Ram back to the centre of the BJP’s agenda.

Though the central government has refused to encourage talk about building a temple to Lord Ram in Ayodhya, Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma will visit the town today to evaluate the location of a sprawling Ramayana museum, which will present the life of the deity as portrayed in the sage Valmiki’s epic.

In 1992, thousands of right-wing volunteers razed the 16th century Babri Masjid. The mosque, according to them, was built over the exact spot where Lord Ram was born – Ram Janmabhoomi. Right-wing organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad who brought down the mosque say a Ram temple must be built there.

“My visit to Ayodhya has nothing to do with UP Assembly elections. I am visiting there as a Tourism Minister. This is part of government’s effort to improve tourism in Ayodhya and all over the country,” Sharma told.