Ram temple on lines of Ayodhya soon in Karnataka: Minister
In a letter to chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and Muzrai minister Shashikala Jolle, higher education minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan demanded that Ramadevarabetta in Ramanagara district be developed as the Ayodhya of south India and a heritage and tourist spot
Karnataka higher education minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan said the decision to construct a Ram Mandir in Karnataka, similar to the one in Ayodhya, will be announced in the next state budget.
“A Ram Mandir will be constructed in Karnataka, similar to the one being built in Ayodhya,” the minister told reporters at Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi on Wednesday.
Last week, Narayan, also the Ramanagara district in-charge minister, urged chief minister Basavaraj Bommai to constitute a development committee to build a temple at Ramadevarabetta on the lines of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
In a letter to Bommai and Muzrai minister Shashikala Jolle, he demanded that Ramadevarabetta in Ramanagara district be developed as the Ayodhya of south India and a heritage and tourist spot.
Narayan had said that the Ram temple should be built using 19 acres which belong to the Muzrai Department at Ramadevarabetta.
JD(S) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy slammed the minister for proposing to build a Ram Mandir just a few months away from the Assembly elections in the state.
“A party which did not do anything in the last three years is talking about building Ram Mandir three months before the Assembly elections,” Kumaraswamy said.
The former chief minister also opposed the state government’s decision to invite Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to lay the foundation stone for the proposed Ram Mandir at Ramadevarabetta.
“There is no need to bring the UP chief minister. Karnataka is not bankrupt to that extent. If the people of Ramanagara want a Ram Mandir at Ramadevarabetta, I will do it myself under the leadership of our Adichunchanagiri Math Seer and we will invite our own Suttur Mutt Seer to lay the foundation,” Kumaraswamy said at the JDS’ ‘Pancharatna Yatra’ at Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumakuru district on Wednesday.
Kumaraswamy said Ramanagara is his constituency, and he would not allow outsiders to do anything there. “God has given me enough strength. Don’t bring someone from another state and do this during elections. My relationship with Ramanagara is that of mother and child. We will not allow outsiders to come and do anything here,” he said.