Digvijaya Singh Promises Land To Bhopal Temple, BJP Says "Election Time"

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh prayed at a Ram temple in Bhopal on Saturday and told its trustees that the land on which the structure stood will be handed over to them. Mr Singh is the Congress's candidate from Bhopal for the Lok Sabha elections.

The land at Bhopal's Guru Baksh Ke Taliya area was embroiled in a legal dispute. While BJP leaders claimed the temple land was grabbed by the Congress, a city court had ordered that the land belonged to the party, a local Congress leader said.

Congress corporator Yogendra Chauhan, who accompanied Digvijaya Singh when he prayed at the temple, said the former chief minister's gesture should be welcomed by all, especially the BJP.

"When Digvijaya Singh was CM (between 1993 and 2003), he had allotted the land to the DCC (district Congress committee). There was a dispute between the temple trust and the DCC over the land. A court, however, ordered that the land belongs to the DCC," Mr Chauhan said.

Mr Singh's move has, however, caused discomfort in the BJP that alleged the former chief minister was remembering Lord Ram only in election season.

BJP leader and former state minister Vishwas Sarang said, "Now, he is remembering Lord Ram as elections are drawing near. The land on which the temple stands was grabbed by the Congress. We have protested against it several times."

The BJP's Alok Sanjar had won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Bhopal, defeating the Congress's PC Sharma by over 3.7 lakh votes. The BJP is yet to declare its candidate for the seat for the national elections.