Sita Mandir in Sri Lanka? BJP advises CM Kamal Nath to prioritise Madhya Pradesh

After the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh on Monday announced that they will construct a grand Sita temple in Sri Lanka, BJP National Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Tuesday advised the Kamal Nath-led government to solve the matters of the state first.

In his statement, Vijayvargiya said, "The Congress party and Kamal Nath should look after Madhya Pradesh and its people first before thinking about all this." 

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Sita temple in Lanka

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced on Monday that a grand Sita temple would be built in Sri Lanka. The construction of the temple was first proposed by then chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, following the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had visited Sanchi to lay the foundation stone of an international Buddha university.

As per the sources, the Madhya Pradesh CM's announcement came during a meeting with a delegation of the Maha Bodhi society led by minister for public relations PC Sharma at the state secretariat. The president of Maha Bodhi Society - Banagla Uptisa - was also present at the meeting.

“The CM ordered the constitution of a committee comprising of officials from Madhya Pradesh and Sri Lanka, to work on the project. He instructed authorities to prepare a plan soon for construction of a Bauddh museum, study and training center of international standard in Sanchi,” the official spokesperson said.

During the meeting, Kamal Nath also stated that a committee will be formed and will consistently monitor the construction work of the temple so that the temple is constructed within the stipulated time. The design of the temple should be finalized and the necessary fund should be made available in this fiscal year itself so that the temple could be built at the earliest.

'Hypocrisy,' says Subramanian Swamy

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday reacted to the Congress' idea of building a Sita temple in Sri Lanka. In an exclusive interview with Republic TV, Swamy took a jibe at the Congress party by claiming that the party is losing power due to 'old secular fanaticism' ideology. 

Speaking to Republic TV, Swamy said, "The BJP did not suggest it (Sita Temple) I did. Rajapaksa is my friend and I had suggested to him that the Ram Sethu will soon be declared a historic monument and devotees will walk on it and reach the place where Sita was kept in prison and so it should be renovated for the visit." 

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