Amid the countrywide celebration marking the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated a new Ram temple in Karnataka. During the ceremony, he made a notable statement, saying, “We (Congress) worship Gandhi’s Ram and not BJP’s Ram.” He went on to criticize the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of attempting to separate Lord Ram from Sita and Lakshman.

Siddaramaiah highlighted the integral role of Sita and Lakshman in the Ramayana, stating, “Without Lakshman and Sita, there is no Rama. Rama is omnipresent, not confined only to Ayodhya. His presence extends to the Sri Rama temple in his village, which was constructed by him.” The Chief Minister inaugurated statues of Rama, Seetha, Laxman, and Hanuman in Mahadevapura district.

Asserting that Lord Rama is a universal deity, Siddaramaiah emphasized, “Lord Rama is God for everyone. He’s not the BJP’s God and the God of all Hindus. We are also disciples and devotees of Lord Ram.” He added that he plans to visit Ayodhya one day.

Referring to the Congress party’s decision to decline an invitation to the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, Siddaramaiah stated, “They (BJP) are trying to portray that we are against Lord Ram, which is not correct. We are not against Lord Rama in Ayodhya. They are doing this for politics.” The Congress had earlier labeled the Ayodhya event as an “RSS-BJP event.”

In contrast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a gathering after the consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, emphasized the significance of Ram in India’s national consciousness. Modi stated, “This is a temple of national consciousness in the form of Ram. Ram is the faith of India, Ram is the foundation of India.”