Priests in Ayodhya on Tuesday lashed out at Nepal`s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli after he claimed that the birthplace of Lord Ram is in Nepal and not in India, and said he was making such statements under pressure from China and Pakistan.
Oli on Monday claimed that that Hindu deity Lord Ram was actually born in Ayodhya village of Nepal and not in India. He accused India of cultural encroachment by "creating a fake Ayodhya."
Responding to his claim, Mahant Dinendra Das, Ram Temple Trust member, said, "Lord Ram was born here. He was born here in Ayodhya near Sarayu river. It is a popular belief that he belongs to Ayodhya. It is true that Sita Ji (Lord Ram`s wife) was from Nepal, but to claim that Lord Ram was Nepali is wrong. I condemn Oli's statement."
Kalki Ram Das Maharaj, president, Ram Dal Trust said Oli was working on behalf of China and Pakistan.
"I condemn his comment. They used to be a Hindu Rashtra but now they are working on the behalf of China and Pakistan" he said.
"There is a line in our religious books, "Jiske Uttar Disha me Saryu pravahit hoti hai, vo Ayodhya hai" (The place from where Saryu river flows in the east is Ayodhya) and there is no Saryu river in Nepal, how can he claim that Ram belongs to Nepal. I am challenging him that he will be dethroned in one month," he added.
Another priest Mahant Paramhansh Acharya said, "Oli is not Nepali, he is not aware of his country`s history. He is betraying Nepal. China had captured over two dozen Nepali villages and to conceal that he is using Lord Ram`s name."
"Lord Ram belongs to the whole universe. He was born here in Ayodhya. Oli is betraying his people and people of Nepal should protest against him otherwise they have to face the ill fate. It does not make a difference whatever he said. Oli is insane," Acharya added.
Oli, at an event organised at Prime Minister`s residence in Kathmandu on Monday, said, "Although real Ayodhya lies at Thori, city in the west of Birgunj, India has claimed that Lord Ram was born there. Due to these continuous claims even we have believed that deity Sita got married to Prince Ram of India. However, in reality, Ayodhya is a village lying west of Birgunj."
"Till now we have remained under the belief that Ram, the man Sita married, was an Indian... he was not, he was a Nepali," Oli said.
Oli's contentions comments come amid his government's ongoing diplomatic tussle with India. Nepal's Parliament had in June unanimously voted to amend the Constitution to update the country's new political map featuring Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, territories traditionally belonging to India.
(With ANI inputs)
