The Congress recently described its chief Rahul Gandhi as a "janeu-dhari Hindu". (File)
Union minister Uma Bharti has asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi to honour his "Brahmin credentials" and "Hindu" claim by supporting the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhaya.
Describing the Congress as "obstructionist" in construction of the temple, Ms Bharti said the party is trying to "disturb" the peace in the region by playing vote bank politics on the issue.
"For the sake of his janeu - a sacred thread wear by Hindu Brahmins - and to honour his credentials, Rahul Gandhi must come forward and support the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhaya. He should convey to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will be in complete support of an ordinance (in Parliament) on this issue," Ms Bharti said.
The Congress has described Rahul Gandhi as a "janeu-dhari Hindu" (A Hindu brahmin who wears a sacred thread). Last month, a priest in Rajasthan's holy site Pushkar also announced Rahul Gandhi's gotra is Dattatreya Kaul brahmin.
Noting all these developments about the Congress chief, Ms Bharti said she is very hopeful about his support, as the Congress "for the first time" has revealed that he (Rahul Gandhi) is "janeu-dhari" Hindu and a Dattaterya Kaul brahmin.
"He (Rahul Gandhi) undertook a pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar. His party is saying he is a Lord Shiv devotee... if it really is the case, then he should support the construction of the temple (in Ayodhya)," she said.
Highlighting that the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhaya is a nationalist work, she urged all leaders, including Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, to "support this noble cause".
Ms Bharti, a leading figure of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, has stressed that the Ayodhya dispute is that of land and not of faith. It has been resolved long back that Ayodhya is the birth place of Lord Ram.