All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s possible attendance at foundation stone laying ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram temple will amount to a “violation of the constitutional oath” taken when assuming office.
Owaisi’s comments follow a left leader’s letter to the Centre disapproving the possible live telecast of the Bhumi Pujan ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5, calling it against the “accepted norms of national integrity”.
The foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on August 5 is likely to be broadcast live for the benefit of millions of devotees advised to pray at home and stay away from Ayodhya on the momentous occasion due to existing covid 19 restrictions .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to perform prayers in the sanctum sanctorum of the earmarked Ram Temple site before laying its foundation stone at around 12:15 pm on the day. However, an official confirmation of the Prime Minister’s programme for the day has not been released so far.
“Attending Bhumi Pujan in official capacity will be a violation of @PMOIndia‘s constitutional oath. Secularism is part of the Basic Structure of Constitution, We can’t forget that for over 400 years Babri stood in Ayodhya & it was demolished by a criminal mob in 1992,” Owaisi tweeted on Tuesday.
Several other prominent leaders including the proponents of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement are expected to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. Earlier a National Congress Party (NCP) leader’s objections to Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s possible participation in the event, made on similar grounds, was rejected both by Shiv Sena and the NCP.
Apart from Thackeray, veteran BJP leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat are also invited to the ceremony.
Ram Temple construction at Ayodhya was cleared by a 5-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, which handed over the disputed land to Hindu parties, finding legal merit in their claim to the site, considered to be the birthplace of Lord Ram. It put an end to the more than a century old dispute that had led to a communal rift in the Indian society.
Most Muslim parties involved in the litigation have accepted the court’s decision. The Central government has also maintained that the acceptance of the court delivered verdict on the Ram Temple demonstrates the strength of Indian democracy.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has described the August 5 ceremony as the culmination of 500 years of struggle for the Hindu community. Appeals have been made by Hindu organizations for recreation of Diwali like celebration on August 5 in symbolic recognition of Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya, his hom, after spending several years in exile.
Around 200 people are likely to be invited for the ceremony. The list includes prominent industrialists, politicians as well as prominent religious leaders of Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist sects. A number of development, tourism and infrastructure projects for Ayodhya will also be announced on August 5, added a government statement. Three-day Vedic rituals will start at Ram Janmabhoomi on August 3 and continue till August 5.
