The Shiv Sena on Monday alleged that the mass contact initiative to collect funds from the public for the Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya is akin to "canvassing" for the 2024 general elections in the name of Lord Ram.

The BJP, however, dismissed the charge, saying it is not a political issue for the party, and accused the Shiv Sena of laying roadblocks earlier in the bhoomi pujan of Ram Temple construction and now by creating hurdles in the donation initiative "in which people are participating voluntarily".