'Give up communism, embrace Ram Rajya': David Frawley on Nepal PM Oli's claim on Ayodhya

After Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday claimed that Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, is in Nepal and Lord Rama was Nepali, Vedic scholar and Padma Bhushan recipient Dr David Frawley has slammed him. Taking to Twitter, the Americal scholar said if Nepal honours Lord Ram as its own son then it the ruling government should give up "Communism and embrace Ram Rajya!"

'Let Nepal rejoin India as well'

He added that Lord Rama journeyed throughout India as his home so Nepal should "rejoin India as well."

"Although real Ayodhya lies at Thori, a city in the west of Birgunj, India has claimed that Lord Rama was born there. Due to these continuous claims even we have believed that deity Sita got married to Prince Rama of India. However, in reality, Ayodhya is a village lying west of Birgunj," Oli claimed at an event organised at Prime Minister's residence in Kathmandu.

'Ayodhya is also in Nepal'

The Prime Minister also blamed India of cultural encroachment by "creating a fake Ayodhya." "Balmiki Ashram is in Nepal and the holy place where King Dashrath had executed the rites to get the son is in Ridi. Dashrath's son Ram was not an Indian and Ayodhya is also in Nepal," he claimed.

In an attempt to save self from criticism, Oli questioned how Lord Rama could come to Janakpur to marry Sita when there were "no means" of communication. He further said that it to be impossible for Lord Rama to come to Janakpur from present Ayodhya that lies in India. "Janakpur lies here and Ayodhya there and there is talk of marriage. There was neither telephone nor mobile then how could he know about Janakpur," Oli said.

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This comes amid rising tensions between India and Nepal and reports of China's meddling in Nepal's internal politics. Nepal has recently banned the transmission of all Indian private news channels except Doordarshan. The current tensions began when Nepal issued a new map claiming Kalapani, Lipu Lekh and Limpiyadhura - which are a part of India's Uttarakhand - as their territory.

READ | Nepal PM claims 'real Ayodhya is not in India'; alleges encroachment of cultural heritage

Chaos in Nepal & China's role

There has been infighting in the party ranks over the leadership of Nepal Communist Party and the government, Oli's unilateral style of functioning and his backing the Mahakali treaty signed with India in 1996. Senior Nepal Communist Party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda along with his party colleagues Madhav Nepal, Jhala Nath Khanal, and Bamdev Gautam officially demanded his resignation.

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Recently, the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi has met a number of key stakeholders such as the Nepal PM and Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari. As per sources, China is actively trying to save the Oli government which has taken an anti-India stance.

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(With agency inputs)