BJP doesn’t have copyright on Ram’s worship: Bansal

“I am also a Hindu and I will definitely visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, but I won’t become a silent spectator in the BJP’s programme,” Bansal said, adding that Ram and Hanuman were not leaders of the BJP

Ram’s worship is not exclusive to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and “Lord Ram belongs to all of us,” said senior Congress leader Pawan Bansal on Thursday.

BJP’s Chandigarh unit vice-president Shakti Prakash Devshali reacted sharply to the decision of Congress leaders to not attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony and said that it had exposed the “anti-sanatana face of the party” (HT File)

“I am also a Hindu and I will definitely visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. But I won’t become a silent spectator in the BJP’s programme. I will go with hundreds of companions as a devotee,” Bansal said, adding that Ram and Hanuman were not leaders of the BJP.

He pointed out that rejection of the invitation for the inauguration of the temple by four shankaracharyas, considered to be out of the “most important Hindu gurus”, means that the inauguration is not for Lord Ram, but for electoral gain.

“This is a political programme by the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and has no connection to the sentiments of Lord Ram and his devotees. The BJP has no connection to the ideals of Lord Ram and it is all a strategic move for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP, skilled in dividing everything, has finally divided God as well,” Bansal alleged.

He added that Hinduism was not the property of the BJP and the building the temple was not the saffron party’s achievement, adding that it was being built in compliance with a Supreme Court order. Bansal said that although the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22 would be of the BJP, there was no reason for the Congress leaders to be “silent spectators”.

Anti-sanatana face of Cong exposed: Devshali

BJP’s Chandigarh unit vice-president Shakti Prakash Devshali reacted sharply to the decision of Congress leaders to not attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony and said that it had exposed the “anti-sanatana face of the party”.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Devshali said that the Congress has been against the construction of Ram Temple since the beginning, and its leaders and government have created hurdles.

“The Congress fielded advocates against the temple in the Supreme Court. Congress politicians made efforts to break the Ram Setu and said that Ram, who was worshiped by crores, was imaginary,” the BJP leader said.

Devshali said that although Congress was boycotting the consecration ceremony by calling it BJP and RSS’ programme, their true reason appeasement of minorities. He alleged that Congress was playing “petty politics over the sacred temple.”