Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha Will Be Done Again if INDI Wins, Says Cong Leader; BJP Hits Back

New Delhi: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Saturday said that the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was not done in the right manner and that the ceremony will be conducted again when the Congress comes into power.

Triggering a fresh row, Patole said, "Shankaracharya has said that (Ayodhya Ram Mandir) Pran Pratishtha was not done in the right manner.” He added that this time the rituals will be performed by Shankaracharya.

"After Congress comes to power in the country, Pran Pratishtha will be done in the right manner by Shankaracharya," he added. The Congress leader said Ram Darbar will be established in the temple.

Patole alleged that PM Narendra Modi acted against protocol in Ram Temple construction and the INDI bloc will rectify those. The Congress leader further said that the four Shankaracharyas had questioned the rituals and the INDI bloc will perform the ceremony under the guidance of the Shankaracharays.

"We will do shuddhikaran of the Ram mandir. This is not just INDIA saying. The shankaracharyas of Sanatana dharma also agree that we need to do a purification of the Ram temple," Mr Patole told news agency IANS.
 

Notably, the Congress had not attended the consecration ceremony of the Temple held on January 22 citing incompletion of the holy shrine.

BJP Hits Out at Patole Over His Remark on Ram Mandir

Patole’s remarks drew sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP MP and party's national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said that Patole’s remarks are controversial and objectionable.

He said, "...Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has given a very objectionable and controversial statement regarding Shri Ram temple... He has said that Shri Ramjanmbhoomi needs to be purified. The important thing is this statement came just after President Droupadi Murmu visited the Shri Ram temple..."

A 51-inch tall idol of Ram Lalla, childhood version of Lord Ram, was consecrated in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ayodhya temple on January 22. The idol has been sculpted by Arun Yogiraj from Karnataka’s Mysuru.

Seers Hit Back At Nana Patole

Reacting to Nana Patole’s remarks, Mahant Narayan Giri, Spokesperson Juna Akhara, said that it is a plan to break the Hindu society. Questioning who will purify the temple, the seer said that Congress did everything it could do to stop the Pran Pratishtha ceremony.

Mahant Narayan Giri said,, “Regarding Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, the statement of the state president of Maharashtra Congress that if the INDIA alliance government is formed, they will get the temple purified, he says that this is the statement of a religious person- I ask him which religious person?... Congress did everything so that the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Mandir does not happen...Who will purify the Ram Mandir?... It is painful for them that an OBC Prime Minister of the country did the Pran Pratishtha in front of 4000 saints...The plan to break the Hindu society will never be successful again...” 

'No Place for Such Thoughts in Ram Rajya'

Whereas, Swami Dipankar said he was surprised to hear Nana Patole’s remarks. He questioned the timings of his remarks as President Droupadi Murmu visited the temple recently. He added that there was no place for such thoughts in Ram Rajya.

The seer said, "I am very surprised with what the Maharashtra Congress president had to say about Ram Mandir. The country saw the Pran Prathishtha & some time back the President also went to the Ram Mandir. I cannot understand what purification is he talking about...Their thinking is surprising. There is no place for such thoughts in Ram Rajya..."