Ram Temple: Days ahead of the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, another Congress leader mocked Lord Ram by comparing the Ram Lalla idol to ‘dolls in a tent’. Karnataka Minister KN Rajanna triggered a new controversy with his remark that the BJP was cheating people in the name of Lord Ram and compared the deity to "two dolls kept in a tent".
'I felt nothing in Ayodhya'
While addressing an event in Bengaluru, Karnataka Cooperation Minister Rajanna said, "There are Ram temples with a history of thousands of years. But the BJP is building temples for elections. BJP is cheating people. I had gone to Ayodhya when the Babri Masjid was demolished. Later, they kept two dolls in a tent and called them Ram."
"Back home, when we go to a Ram temple, we feel a certain vibration. In Ayodhya, I felt nothing. It was like dolls in touring talkies," he added.
Congress rejects Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha's invitation
The Congress has announced that it will not be attending the January 22 ceremony, alleging that the event has been turned into a political one rather than a religious one. "Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain. While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event," Congress in its statement said.
It should be mentioned here that Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust has decided to enthrone Ram Lalla at the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram Temple on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the ceremony. Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, holds great spiritual, historical and cultural significance for the people of India. A Vedic priest from Varanasi, Lakshmi Kant Dixit, will perform the main rituals of the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22. From January 14 to January 22, Ayodhya will mark the Amrit Mahautsav.
