'Built After Demolishing Mosque...': Udhayanidhi Says He 'Doesn't Agree' with How Ram Temple Came Up

Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday said he is opposed to the Ram temple in Ayodhya coming up after “demolishing a mosque” but not opposed to the shrine itself. He said the late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had said his party is not against a particular religion or faith.

“We don’t have a problem with a temple coming up there. We are not in agreement with the construction of a temple after demolishing a mosque,” Udhayanidhi said, referring to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. He added that the DMK treasurer, TR Baalu, has already said spiritualism and politics should not be mixed.

In September last year, the DMK leader had triggered a massive controversy over his ‘Sanatan Dharma’ remark, when he said it was against the idea of social justice and must be eradicated. “A few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can’t oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona. We have to eradicate this, that’s how we have to eradicate Sanatana,” he had said.

The pran pratishtha of the idol of Ram Lalla will be done at Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya on January 22. A number of political parties, which are part of the opposition INDIA bloc, have rejected an invitation to the ceremony stating that politics and religion should not be mixed.

The Congress, whose leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, were invited to the ceremony but they “respectfully declined”, accusing the BJP of making it into a “political project” for electoral gains and asserting that religion is a “personal matter”. Senior party leader Rahul Gandhi also said the event has been made a “Narendra Modi and RSS-BJP function” with an “election flavour”.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had also declined an invitation, with the Left party saying religion is a personal choice and should not be converted into an instrument for political gain.

TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of indulging in a “gimmick show” through the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. She has announced that she will lead a “rally for harmony” with people of all religions in Kolkata on January 22.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has said, “Religion cannot be a part of politics”, and accused the BJP of hiding behind religion. The SP leader has said he will visit the temple, along with his family, after the inauguration event.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said he will go to Ayodhya with his family after the January 22 Ram temple ceremony and pay obeisance to Ram Lalla, while NCP chief Sharad Pawar, too, declined to attend the ceremony and said he will visit Ayodhya to offer prayers after the completion of the temple construction.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony. The temple trust has also invited 4,000 seers from across the country and 50 guests from foreign countries.

(With PTI inputs)