Karnataka minister and Congress leader KN Rajanna on Tuesday courted controversy by calling the existing idol of Lord Ram in the makeshift temple in Ayodhya a ‘doll in a tent’. During an event in Bengaluru, Rajanna accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of cheating the public saying the saffron party kept two ‘dolls’ in a tent following the demolition of Babri masjid in 1992 and called it Ram.
“There are Ram temples with a history spanning thousands of years. But the BJP is building temples for elections. The 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,” news agency ANI quoted Rajanna as saying.
“Back home, when we go to a Ram temple, we feel a certain vibration. In Ayodhya, I felt nothing,” he added.
Former Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister TS Singh Deo criticised the remarks and said there’s no need for such statements as Lord Ram has been in the hearts of people for centuries.
“Lord Ram has been in the hearts of people for centuries. I feel that there is no need for such statements,” Singh Deo told ANI.
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) president Alok Kumar also lambasted the minister saying such remarks came out of “frustration” and “disappointment” of the Congress leaders as they decided to skip the consecration ceremony.
Meanwhile, the week-long Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in the newly built Ram Janmabhoomi Temple commenced on Tuesday with the host appointed by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra conducting the atonement ceremony. Panchgavyaprashan was also performed at Ram Janmabhoomi Temple with Panchgavya (milk, urine, dung, ghee, and curd), after worshipping Lord Vishnu.
On Wednesday, the idol of Lord Ram Lalla will be touring the premises of the temple. “On Wednesday, January 17, after 1:20 pm, there will be Jalayatra, Teertha Puja, Brahmin-Batuk-Kumari-Suvasini Puja, Vardhini Puja, Kalshayatra and a tour of the idol of Lord Shri Ram Lalla in the Prasad premises,” the temple trust said in a post on X.
The rituals will culminate on January 22 with the pran-prathistha ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to preside over the ceremonial installation of Ram Lalla. The temple will be open for ‘darshan’ for the general public from January 23.
(With inputs from ANI)
