"They want to take advantage of Lord Ram": Union Minister Tomar slams Congress

Morena (Madhya Pradesh) [India], October 28 : Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday slammed Congress leadership, saying as soon as the election approaches, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and other leaders of the Congress party remember Lord Ram.
He also asked the Congress MP Chief, "why his party opposed the Ram Mandir."
"Kamal Nath and the other leaders of Congress are seasonal Hindus. As soon as the election approaches, they remember Lord Ram... Kamal Nath should answer, Why did his party oppose the Ram Mandir?... Now they want to take advantage of Lord Ram," he told ANI on Friday in Madhya Pradesh's Morena.
Notably, the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya is all set to be inaugurated on January 22 next year.
Several dignitaries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat will attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.
Meanwhile, Tomar on Friday filed his nomination paper from Dimani assembly constituency in Morena district for the forthcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.
Tomar is in the fray from Dimani seat against the Congress candidate Ravindra Singh Tomar.
Terming Home Minister Amit Shah's three-day visit to the poll-bound state beginning today, of "great importance," Tomar said, "Amit Shah is a senior leader of our party, and he is the Home Minister of India. He is especially seeing the Madhya Pradesh election. His three-day visit is of great importance".
"After his visit, there will be more acceleration in the election's work, and the BJP's victory will be ensured," he added.
The BJP has announced a total of 228 candidates so far in its five lists - 39 candidates each in the first and second lists, a single name in the third list, 57 candidates in the fourth list and 92 candidates in the fifth list. The party is yet to declare candidates for Guna (Scheduled Caste) and Vidisha seats.
The BJP has fielded Tomar in its second list of candidates for the upcoming polls. The second list contained the names of three Union Ministers and four MPs (Members of Parliament).
Union Ministers Tomar and Prahlad Singh Patel have been fielded from the Dimani and Narsinghpur constituencies respectively. Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste will contest from the Niwas seat.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and BJP MP Rakesh Singh have been fielded from Indore-1 and Jabalpur Paschim constituencies respectively. Other notable candidates in the second list included MPs Ganesh Mantri, Rakesh Singh and Reeti Pathak.
Madhya Pradesh is one of the five states set to hold elections this year. The state is scheduled to undergo polls on November 17 and the counting of votes will take place on December 3. Voters will choose legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies.