With a number of prominent persons including Union Home Minister Amit Shah getting infected with COVID-19 ahead of the Ram Temple bhoomi pujan ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5, Congress Rajya Sabha member Digivijaya Singh has sharpened his attack over the ‘inauspicious mahurt’ of the ceremony.
In a series of tweets on Monday, Singh linked the supposed inauspicious timing of bhoomi pujan to the COVID-19 infection of Shah and other prominent persons including chief ministers, a governor, BJP state presidents and priests of the Ram Temple and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.
Singh said that the inauspicious timing was decided at the behest of Modi despite warnings against it, “which means that Modi ji is bigger than the thousands of years old beliefs of Hindu religion. Is this Hindutva?”
He went on to ask how many people PM Modi wanted in hospital by conducting the ceremony at an inauspicious moment. “Yogi (Adityanath) ji, you should make Modi ji understand this. How are the limits of Sanatan Dharma being breached in your presence? And what is your compulsion in letting this happen?” Singh asked.
He also asked whether Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Modi shouldn’t get themselves quarantined as a minister had succumbed in UP and the state BJP chief tested positive and at the Centre Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also infected. “Is the rule for quarantine only for common people and not for PM and CM? The quarantine period is 14 days,” Singh tweeted.
Singh urged Modi to defer the “inauspicious timing” of the bhoomi pujan ceremony on August 5. "The opportunity of constructing the temple has come after struggle of several years and you should not disrupt it with your adamancy," he said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan retorted, tweeting that “Congress leaders who used to deny the existence of Lord Ram are now trying to fix auspicious-inauspicious timing for the Ram Temple construction. Congress people, time turns auspicious just by chant the name of Lord Ram.”
Chouhan added that it is the result of the lowly thoughts and messing up with beliefs of Sanatan Dharma that the Congress is on the way of total fall. “Lord Ram might be a matter of politics for Congress, but for us Ram is all about devotion and faith,” he said.
Uma Bharti’s COVID-19 precaution in Ayodhya
Meanwhile, BJP leader Uma Bharti, who is among a few to have received invitation for the event, too has spoken about the COVID-19 threat in relation to the bhoomi pujan ceremony, but in a different way.
She has said that she will keep away from the main event where PM Modi will be present as she is worried about him (PM) after Home Minister Amit Shah tested COVID-19 positive.
Bharti also took to Twitter to say that she will be reaching Ayodhya by Tuesday evening after leaving Bhopal on Monday. “On the way, I might meet any (COVID-19) infected person. Therefore I will maintain a distance from the ceremony venue where PM Modi and others will be present. I will take a darshan of Ram Lala only after PM Modi and other invitees leave,” she said.
She added that she has informed the PM’s office and the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust about her decision. She will stay on the banks of River Sharayu during the main ceremony time, Bharti said.