Last Updated: January 03, 2024, 17:34 IST
The inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya will take place on Jan 22. (File Photo)
Karnataka Congress MLC BK Hariprasad stoked a fresh row saying that an incident like Godhra might take place in the state and asked the central government to provide security to the people going to Ayodhya.
Days ahead of the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Karnataka Congress MLC BK Hariprasad on Wednesday stoked a fresh row saying that riots like Godhra might take place in the state and asked the central government to provide security to the people going to the holy city in Uttar Pradesh.
“There is a possibility of ‘Godhra-like incident’ in Karnataka in the run up to the consecration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. The Karnataka government should be alert because in Gujarat during the same occasion, the Kar Sevaks were set on fire at Godhra,” the Congress leader was quoted as saying.
“2002 Godhra train burning case had plunged Gujarat into one of the worst communal riots. So, no room should be given for any untoward incident to happen in Karnataka. All the arrangements should be made for those willing to go to Ayodhya so that we should not see another Godhra happening in Karnataka,” he added.
“If a Hindu Dharma Guru inaugurates the Ram temple then you and me would have gone there (to Ayodhya) without any invitation”, the Congress leader said.
“My knowledge tells me that the four Shankaracharyas are the head of the Hindu religion. If the four Shankaracharyas or any religious head had inaugurated the event then I would have attended the event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are not ‘Dharma Guru’ but political leaders. We have to consider this,” he added.
BJP Demands Hariprasad’s apology
Responding to the comments of Karnataka MLC BK Hariprasad, BJP said that the Congress leader should apologise for his disrespectful remarks.
“Congress is becoming a worm of communal conspiracy. These are the people who created obstacles in the way of Ram temple,” said BJP leader Naqvi Mukhtar in response to Congress leader Hariprasad’s remark on Ram Mandir inauguration ceremony.
BJP accuses Congress of Opening Old Cases
Meanwhile, it is important to note that the Congress leader’s comments came after the BJP, in response to the arrest of Hindu activist Srikanth Poojary, alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka is reopening old cases related to the demolition of the Babri Masjid that took place in 1992.
The BJP’s allegations came after the Kar Sevak from Hubballi, who participated in the Ram temple agitation 31 years ago, was arrested in connection to the pending cases. Responding to the matter, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, accused the Congress government of “dirty politics” and “terrorising” Hindu activists ahead of the grand inauguration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
