Invitations for Ram temple event should be socially inclusive: Jitendra Awhad

Jitendra Awhad. Pic/X

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Jitendra Awhad on Wednesday said invitations being sent out for the forthcoming Ram temple event should be "socially inclusive", reported news agency PTI.

Speaking to reporters, the former Maharashtra minister alleged the day (January 22) chosen for the consecration of the idol has no connection with Lord Ram's life, reported PTI.

"Is January 22 a Ramnavmi? No. The temple in Ayodhya is incomplete but still pranpratishtha of the idol is being done. Real issues like inflation, unemployment etc are not talked about ahead of elections. The invitations sent out (for the consecration ceremony) smacks of caste bias," he alleged, reported PTI.

He said B R Ambedkar had challenged the discriminatory "caste system" by visiting the famous Kalaram temple in Nashik, reported PTI.

Awhad asked why President Droupadi Murmu was not invited to the Ram temple event.

The NCP leader had recently stoked a controversy by saying that Lord Ram was a "non-vegetarian who hunted animals". He later expressed regret over his remarks.

Earlier, Awhad, who represents the Mumbra-Kalwa assembly constituency in Thane district, had kicked up a row with his remark on Lord Ram.

"Lord Ram is ours. He belongs to the Bahujans. Lord Ram, who hunts and eats (flesh) is ours, we belong to the Bahujans. Some people make us out to be vegetarians. But we follow the ideals of Lord Ram and today we consume mutton. This is in keeping with the ideals of Lord Ram," he said at an NCP conclave at Shirdi on January 3.

"Ram was not a vegetarian, he was non-vegetarian," he added.

Jitendra Awhad sought to defend his remark citing a research paper on Valmiki Ramayana by IIT Kanpur. However, he also sought forgiveness from the people, saying he regretted his remarks if they hurt anyone's sentiments.

Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Awhad pointed to the extensive research conducted by IIT Kanpur on this version of the Ramayana. "Look, I am telling you I did not bring my own interpretation or views into it. I did not incorporate any ideas of my own. I based my opinion on whatever is written in Valmiki Ramayana," the NCP leader, stoutly defending his position in the face of a firestorm of protest from the BJP and the country's seer community.

(With inputs from PTI)