BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday, December 27, questioned the decision to allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in the puja for the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. The Prime Minister is set to attend the installation of the idol of Lord Ram at the grand temple and participate in the puja ceremony.
Questioning the legitimacy of Narendra Modi attending the temple ceremony, Subramaniam Swamy wrote on X, “How can we Ram bhakts allow Modi to join the performing of the Pran Prathishta Puja of the Ram Lala murti in Ayodhya, when Ram spent almost one and half decades, and waged a war, to rescue his wife Sita? Modi is instead known for abandoning his wife, and yet he will do the puja?”
For many years, Narendra Modi did not publicly acknowledge his marriage. His marriage to Jashodaben, a retired teacher, became widely public in 2014 when he declared his marital status in his poll affidavit. The duo got married when they were young adolescents, in accordance with their community’s traditions. However, the Prime Minister later abandoned her.
Narendra Modi’s elder brother Sombhai Modi earlier claimed that the marriage was forced on his brother. Sombai claimed that Modi walked out of the marriage “in response to an inner call to work for the nation and the society inspired by the teachings of Swami Vivekanand.”
Subramanian Swamy has often taken jibes at Modi and his government, expressing his displeasure.
For the temple inauguration several politicians, religious leaders and even popular actors like Yash, Prabhas, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn and Sunny Deol have been invited.
Reacting to this, Subramanian Swamy had earlier said that the actors should first undergo a ritual to cleanse their sins. “12+ cinema stars coming to Pran Prasthista Puja for installation of Ram Lala in Ayodhya. Why ? If they come to do Prayaschit we can accommodate. Otherwise these daily sinners should go to a Kali Temple and beg for forgiveness,” he wrote on X.
The grand temple ceremony scheduled on January 22 is expected to be attended by nearly 4,000 saints and hundreds of officials.
The CPI (M) which was also invited for the event, rejected the proposition saying that the religious ceremony has been converted into a “state sponsored event.”
“It is most unfortunate that the BJP and RSS have converted a religious ceremony into a state sponsored event directly involving the Prime Minister, the UP [Uttar Pradesh] Chief Minister and other government functionaries. A fundamental principle of governance in India as reiterated by the Supreme Court is that the state in India, under the Constitution should have no religious affiliation. This is being violated by the ruling regime in the organisation of the event,” the CPI(M) said in a statement.