Ayodhya: Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Vijay Shankar Tiwari on Thursday took a swipe at Congress MP Jairam Ramesh after the latter called the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya 'misuse of dharma'.
The VHP leader, while speaking to ANI said that Congress leader Jairam Ramesh should speak anything only after 'learning the definition of dharma'.
"... It is said that one must protect the Dharma and the Dharma will protect them. Jairam Ramesh does not know the meaning of Dharma. He would not have made such a statement if he understood it... I challenge Jairam Ramesh to show me at least one constitution in the world that does not include the 10 principles of Dharma... First, he should learn the definition of Dharma and then say anything..." Tiwari said. Congress General Secretary in Charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh, on Wednesday described the pran pratishtha as the "political project" of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Speaking with ANI at Mokokchung during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the Congress leader said, "Every family has a temple at their place. I have it too...This is Lord Ram's politicisation."
"The programme being held on January 22 is a political programme. This is a political project of the BJP and the RSS...This is the misuse of 'dharma'...," he added.
The decision to snub the invitation to the January 12 Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony by the parties of the INDIA bloc has triggered a political slugfest just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The latest remarks came after the opposition parties of the INDIA bloc accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of "using" the Ram Temple for electoral gains in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP, on the other hand, has been accusing the grand old party of hurting religious sentiments.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and a host of Congress bigwigs -- national president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi and the party's Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury--have already turned down the invitation to the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony.
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav will also not attend the ceremony on January 22. —ANI
