'Siddaramaiah's name has Ram but he acts like Kalanemi': Hanumangarhi priest on Ayodhya row

A team of priests led by Lakshmikant Dixit will perform the main rituals of the pran prathistha of Ram Lalla on January 22.

Hanumangarhi temple priest Mahant Raju Das on Sunday attacked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for declining the invitation to attend the Pran Prathistha ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

"Siddaramaiah is such a good name, associated with Lord Ram, but his actions are like that of Kalanemi (an asura)...Their worry about Babar, about attackers and the way they are toying with the sentiments of the majority of the population - what CT Ravi said is not wrong," Mahant Raju Das told ANI on Sunday.

BJP leader CT Ravi launched an attack on Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday saying the Congress leader and his party would not participate in the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram in Ayodhya as they 'couldn't leave Babar'.

"Their party has said that they will not go (to Pranpratishtha). They have boycotted... They cannot leave Babar and hold Ram... It would be easy to hold Ram if they leave Babar... They will not get the bulk votes if they leave Babar... Ram is for everyone. Pranpratishtha should be celebrated like a festival," CT Ravi said.

The opposition parties of the INDIA bloc have accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of "using" the Ram Temple for electoral gains in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

The 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of the Ram Temple will be held on January 22. Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya will begin on January 16, a week before the main ceremony.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform rituals to mark the pran prathishta of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22.

A team of priests led by Lakshmikant Dixit will perform the main rituals of the pran prathistha of Ram Lalla on January 22.

There will be Amrit Mahotsav in Ayodhya from January 14 to January 22.