Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday said he is against the Ram temple being built in Ayodhya after “demolishing the mosque” but is not against the temple itself. He said late DMK patron M Karunanidhi had said that his party was not against any particular religion or belief.

“We have no problem with a temple being built there. Referring to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, Udhayanidhi said, we do not agree with the construction of the temple after demolishing the mosque. He said that DMK Treasurer TR Baalu ​​has already said that there should be no spiritualism and politics. miscellaneous.

In September last year, the DMK leader had sparked a major controversy over his ‘Sanatan Dharma’ comment when he had said that it was against the idea of ​​social justice and should be scrapped. “Some things cannot be opposed, they must be abolished. We cannot oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria or corona. We have to eradicate it, similarly we have to eradicate Sanatan,” he had said.

Dignity of life On January 22, the idol of Ramlala will be worshiped at Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya. Several political parties, which are part of the opposition Bharat faction, have rejected the invitation to the ceremony, saying politics and religion should not be mixed.

The Congress, whose leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were invited to the ceremony, “respectfully declined”, accusing the BJP of making it a “political project” for electoral gains and saying religion is a Is a “personal matter”. Senior party leader Rahul Gandhi also said that the event had been turned into a “Narendra Modi and RSS-BJP function” with an “election flavour”.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had also declined the invitation, with the Left party saying religion is a personal choice and should not be converted into an instrument for political gain.

TMC president Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of “gimmicking” through the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. She has announced that she will lead a “Sadbhav Rally” with people of all religions in Kolkata on 22 January.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has said, “Religion cannot be a part of politics” and accused BJP of hiding behind religion. The SP leader has said that after the inauguration program he will go to the temple with his family.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he will visit Ayodhya with his family after the Ram temple ceremony on January 22 and have darshan of Ram Lalla, while NCP chief Sharad Pawar also refused to attend the ceremony and said he would not attend the puja. Will go to Ayodhya to do so. After completion of temple construction.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony. The temple trust has also invited 4,000 saints from across the country and 50 guests from abroad.

(With PTI inputs)