Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti has said that Lord Ram was not the BJP's "property" and the deity belonged to all irrespective of faith.
This came amid a special puja organised by former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and state Congress chief Kamal Nath.
Speaking to reporters in Ujjain on Monday, Bharti said, "Ram ke naam pe kisi ka patent nahi hai. Ram ka naam aur Ayodhya BJP ki bapauti nahin hai, ye sabki ke hain, jo BJP me hain ya nahi hain. Jo kisi bhi dharm ke hon. Jo Ram ko mante hain, Ram unke hain. (No one holds a patent on Ram's name. Ram’s name and Ayodhya aren’t BJP’s property. It’s for everyone, whether they are in the BJP or not. Even if they follow other religion. If they have faith in Ram, Ram is theirs)."
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh thanked the BJP leader for her remarks.
Tagging a video of her making these comments, Singh wrote on Twitter "Thank you Uma."
Earlier, Hanuman Chalisa recital was organised at Kamal Nath's residence in Bhopal. The MP Congress chief announced that he was sending 11 silver bricks to Ayodhya for the Ram Temple.
"We are sending 11 silver brick to Ayodhya from the people of Madhya Pradesh, they were bought with donations from Congress members. It's a historic day (tomorrow) for which entire country was waiting. Hanuman Chalisa recital was done for welfare of the state's people," he said.
Uma Bharti will not attend the Ram Temple 'bhoomi pujan' event in Ayodhya on Wednesday due to fear of COVID-19 pandemic.
In a tweet last week, she said she was worried about the health of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the chief guest at the event and will lay the foundation stone of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
