Thread by @ShashiTharoor

ShriRam is not the property of BJP. He is the ideal man whose image is deeply etched in the hearts&minds of millions. Gandhiji always sang his hymns& died w/"Hei Ram" on his lips. He talked about a RamRajya where all would live in peace&prosperity. Can't let His name be hijacked!

The universal appeal of Ram & SanatanDharma cannot be commandeered by those who chant either hymns or slogans. He belongs to all humanity. For Hindutva, Ram is a God to be worshipped; for Gandhiji Ram represented ideal qualities that every person should practise &seek to emulate.

Let's be clear: @INCIndia was NEVER opposed to the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, but to the criminal demolition of the BabriMasjid. In 1989, Rajiv Gandhiji allowed VHP to do shilanyas on non-disputed land nearby as an alternate site:
online.wsj.com/public/resourc…

At the same time it was NOT Rajiv Gandhi who ordered opening of the locks at the masjid, but the district judge of Faizabad who ordered the locks to be opened in 1986‼️
Official link of Supreme Court given below states that clearly on page 476.
sci.gov.in/pdf/JUD_2.pdf

Whatever you feel about today's events, the Masjid's demolition is a blot on our conscience. As @RahulGandhi said in 2007, "My father said to my mother that he would stand in front of Babri Masjid. They would have had to kill him first”.
m.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/…

Some Left-liberal intellectuals are accusing @INCIndia of being BJP-Lite. Yes, many leaders welcomed the Ram temple after the SC judgement. But they did NOT instigate Hindus against Muslims.They did NOT make hate speeches against the Muslim community.They hailed the ideal Ramji.

To those who insist there is no difference between the political parties in India, I ask: is there is no difference between those who would respectfully have come to an accommodation with the Muslim community on a Ram mandir, & those who, with rage & hate, destroyed the mosque?

And to those Muslims who tell me they feel let down by @INCIndia, pl.check what the Holy Quran says in ch.60, verses 8& 9: quran.com/60/8-9?transla…
Who exactly betrayed you? Not those who stand for an inclusive India, who have neither attacked you nor preached hatred against you.