'They do not deserve to go there': Uma Bharti slams Cong for declining Ram temple invitation

Lucknow: Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Friday said that those who denied the existence of Lord Ram do not have the courage to go to Ayodhya and they do not deserve to go there.

"They do not deserve to go there ('wo us layak nahi ke waha aate'), Bharti told PTI when asked about the Congress declining the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

"They rejected Ram. They denied his existence in an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying Ram does not exist. The affidavit was such that they did not have the courage to go there (Ayodhya)," she added.

The BJP veteran, however, refused to comment on the remarks of Swami Nischalanand Saraswati Maharaj, the Shankaracharya of Puri and requested him to come to Ayodhya and give his blessings.

Amid clamour over four Shankaracharya not attending the Ram temple 'pran pratishtha', ceremony, the Shankaracharya of Puri had clarified the move stating this is not about ego and that their decision is rooted in the deviation from established traditions during the installation of the Ram temple idol.

Commenting on Samajwadi Party general secretary Shivpal Yadav's statement justifying firing on the karsevaks in 1990, Bharti said, "When bullet is fired to maintain law and order, the people are shot in the leg... Bullets are not fired on the chest and head.. The Samajwadi Party is the killer of karsevaks." "I ask him to ask all the leaders of his party responsible for the firing to go to Ayodhya and beg pardon (from Lord Ram)," she added.

Yadav had on Thursday justified the police firing on the karsevaks marching towards Ayodhya in 1990, saying the then Mulayam Singh Yadav government had to follow the court's orders and protect the Constitution.

"The Constitution was protected. The court's order was followed," he told reporters.

Expressing her delight at the Ram temple construction, Bharati said self-satisfaction ('atma tripti') is the appropriate word to define it.