'Ram Lalla idol doesn't look like a child': Digvijaya Singh courts new row
Digvijaya Singh said that the idol should be in the form of a child and in the lap of Mother Kaushalya, but the one being seated is not in the child form.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday courted another controversy by saying that the newly sculpted Ram Lalla idol being seated in Ayodhya's Ram Janmanbhoomi Temple does not look like a child.
Questioning the need for a second idol, Singh said that the idol should be in the form of a child and in the lap of Mother Kaushalya, but the one being seated is not in the child form.
“I have been saying this from the beginning, where is the idol of Ram Lalla whose idol was controversial and destroyed? What was the need for the second statue? Our Guru Late Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Ji Maharaj of Dwarka and Joshimath had also suggested that the idol of Lord Ram in the Ram Janmabhoomi temple should be in the form of a child and should be in the lap of Mother Kaushalya. But the idol that is being consecrated does not look like a child,” the Congress leader said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Earlier this week, the Congress leader claimed that the BJP, VHP and RSS wanted to demolish the Babri Masjid, and not build a temple because until the mosque is demolished the issue does not become a communal issue.
Singh said that the Congress never opposed the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya but asked to wait till the court's decision.
"Congress never opposed the construction of RamMandir in Ayodhya. Was asked only to wait till the court's decision for construction in the disputed land. 'Bhoomi pujan' on non-disputed land was also done during the time of Rajiv ji. Narasimha Rao ji had also acquired non-disputed land for the construction of Ram temple," he said.
"But BJP, VHP and RSS wanted to demolish the mosque, not build a temple. Because until the mosque is demolished the issue does not become a Hindu-Muslim issue. Destruction is in their behaviour and character; taking political advantage by spreading unrest is their strategy. That's why their slogan was "Ram Lalla hum aayenge, Mandir wahi Banayenge," he added.
Singh has said that he would visit the temple town and have the darshan of Lord Ram Lalla once the construction of the temple is completed.
The grand old party has declined the invitation to the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla being scheduled on January 22 accusing the BJP-RSS for making it a "political project" for electoral gains.
"We have faith in Lord Ram...We are not in a hurry to have darshan of Lord Ram. Once the construction (of Ayodhya temple) is complete, we will go there," the Rajya Sabha member said.
Meanwhile, the preparations are in full swing in Ayodhya for the mega pran-prathistha ceremony of Lord Ram Lalla in the newly built Ram Janmabhoomi Temple on January 22. The 51-inch idol of Lord Ram, carved by famed sculptor Arun Yogiraj, was placed inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in Ayodhya on Thursday.
Covered with a veil, the first photo of the idol was revealed during the placement ceremony in the sanctum sanctorum on Thursday. The idol portrays Lord Ram as a five-year-old child standing on a lotus also crafted from the same stone.
The week-long rituals for the pran-prathistha ceremony commenced on Tuesday and will culminate on January 22 with the pran-prathistha ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to preside over the ceremonial installation of Ram Lalla. The temple will be open for 'darshan' for the general public from January 23.
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