BJP leader stokes Ayodhya embers

GUWAHATI: Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday urged Muslims to ‘end’ the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi controversy by ‘leaving’ the disputed site at Ayodhya for the construction of a Ram temple and building a mosque elsewhere.
“For harmony and peace in the country, my Muslim brothers should leave the disputed site for a Ram mandir and build their mosque near the banks of the Sarayu.We will provide all help,” Swamy said.
The BJP leader appeared before the Gauhati high court on Friday in connection with a case filed against him for an earlier statement that a mosque was merely a ‘building’ instead of a place of prayer. He, however, said he had been misquoted by the media.
Following his comments, chief minister Tarun Gogoi had threatened to ban Swamy from entering Assam. While the state BJP had distanced itself from the leader, several students’ groups had burnt his effigies across the state.