Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday sparked a debate questioning exclusivity of invitations for consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya, asking whether Ram only belongs to the BJP or the RSS. He also asked whether Lord Ram is confined to one temple.
Addressing reporters here today, he questioned the exclusivity of invitations for the temple opening on Monday, asking whether Ram only belongs to the BJP or the RSS.
Farooq Abdullah challenged the need for invitations to visit a temple and asserted, “The invitation process is wrong. Nobody is the custodian of Ram.”
Why do you need an invitation to go to a temple?” the former chief minister asked.
“If I am going for an Umrah, shall I expect an invite from there? The invitation process is wrong. Nobody is the custodian of Ram,” he added.
The former CM emphasised the omnipresence of Lord Ram, stating, “Is Lord Ram residing only in one temple? Isn’t Ram having any other home (temple)? Are other Ram temples useless ones? Ram is omnipresent. He is also there, where there is no Ram temple. He is the Ram of the entire universe.”
Abdullah argued that Shri Ram does not belong to one sect and criticised the portrayal of Lord Ram solely as a ‘Hindu’ figure.
To a query, he ruled out any delay in talks on Parliament seat sharing issue within the INDIA bloc in Jammu and Kashmir. He stated that discussions have already begun. This statement followed his earlier caution that failure to reach a consensus on seat sharing could lead to the formation of a separate grouping within the alliance.
Speaking to reporters, Abdullah expressed confidence in the ongoing talks, stating, “I don’t think there is any delay in seat sharing. They are already talking about it. It takes time. Everybody has own interests, and those have to be looked into. I am sure it will be alright.”
Abdullah emphasized that his party has a history of successfully resolving such issues with the Congress and expects no problems in the current negotiations.
Responding to questions about the possibility of his party giving up some seats in the coalition, Abdullah highlighted that the outcome would depend on future discussions between the parties. He reiterated that there was “no problem at all on seat sharing,” referring to a statement by his party’s vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday.
