Congress spurs Ram temple row: CM Siddaramaiah ‘is our Ram. Why should he visit Ayodhya;’ BJP hits back

Congress leader and former Karnataka minister, H Anjaneya, sparked a major controversy on Monday by likening Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to Lord Ram.

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Anjaneya said, "He (Siddaramaiah) is our Ram. Why should he visit Ayodhya for the consecration event? He could pay obeisance at his native village which has a Ram temple," reported ANI.

The opening of the Ram Temple is scheduled to take place on January 22. The Congress leader spurred a war of words when he said that the idol to be installed inside the sanctum sanctorum in Ayodhya would be 'BJP's Ram'.

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Anjaneya remarks came in following CM Siddaramaiah's statement statement earlier this week. The CM said that he is in a dilemma over the decision of attending the event as he did not receive a formal invitation to the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple.

The Congress leader further added, "Why should he go there (Ram Temple in Ayodhya)? The idol that is to be installed there is the BJP's Ram. They are only sending out invites to BJP people and singing bhajans (devotional songs). So, let them do that. Our Ram is everywhere, he's in our hearts," reported ANI.

Also read: 'Invitations are only...': Ram Temple's priest on Uddhav Thackeray's exclusion from guest list of consecration ceremony

Anjaneya remarked that the BJP wasn't prioritising the larger 'social issues' that the country is grappling with, the party was instead dividing people on the basis of religion and communities, the Congress leader said the ruling party wasn't prioritising the larger 'social issues' that the country is grappling with.

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He said, "The BJP always does this, dividing people on the lines of religion and community. They are aggressively wooing a particular community for votes at the expense of others."

On Monday, while speaking to reporters in Chitradurga, Anjaneya said, “They are talking big about raising the Ram Temple when homeless people in the country are literally living in the gutter. They are spending days and nights under trees." He suggested that the party should build affordable homes for needy and offer them a better life. He emphasized, "Those would be the ideal Ram temples, as opposed to raising a shrine for votes.”

Also read: 'Light Ram Jyoti at your homes on Jan 22 but don't come to Ayodhya': PM Modi's appeal for Ram Mandir event

In a counter attack to Anjaneya's statement BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal cautioned him and said speak of Lord Ram and other Hindu deities with respect and dignity. Yatnal in a post on X stated, "It is our misfortune that such idiots, anti-Hindu (leaders) have been our ministers," Yatnal posted on X.

(With inputs from ANI)