Ram Temple Consecration A 'Political Event', Speeches Were 'Dangerous': Ashok Gehlot

Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot claimed that the speeches delivered after the ceremony were dangerous and intellectuals are worried about the direction that these would take the country.

File photo of former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Two days after the Ram Temple Consecration ceremony, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday alleged that the ceremony in Ayodhya was given the form of a political event. He further claimed that the speeches delivered from the mandir's platform were "dangerous."

The former CM also questioned why other senior BJP leaders such as JP Nadda, Amit Shah, and Rajnath Singh did not attend the ceremony. Why did the leaders of their party not attend the event? he asked.

"It means that the method adopted was not right,” he told reporters, reported news agency PTI.

“The (consecration) programme was like a political event. The consecration of Ram Lalla could have been accomplished in a completely religious, cultural and religious manner. Shankaracharyas were ignored and that is not a good tradition,” Gehlot added.

Gehlot also claimed that the speeches delivered after the ceremony were dangerous and intellectuals were worried about the direction that these would take the country. “We all, the countrymen, should be worried about this,” he said, the PTI report added.

On Monday, an idol of the Ram Lalla was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple, a landmark event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who also gave a clarion call to go beyond the grand mandir's construction to build the foundation of a "strong, capable, and divine" India of the next 1,000 years.

Lakhs of people watched the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony on television in their homes and neighbourhood temples, becoming part of the historic event held just months before the Lok Sabha elections.

Gehlot also attacked the BJP government in Assam for allegedly disrupting the Congress' Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. “The Assam chief minister ordered to file an FIR whereas no chief minister or the prime minister has the right to directly tell the police or an officer to file one,” he said, as per the PTI report.

The veteran leader also alleged a conspiracy to stop the yatra. “The yara will be successful. Rahul Gandhi is not going to be scared,” asserted Gehlot.