"Using dharma for politics...": Digvijay Singh questions Pran Pratishtha in "under-construction" Ram Mandir

Rajgarh (Madhya Pradesh) [India], January 19 : Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Friday again questioned the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, asking why the ceremony is being done in an "under-construction" temple.
He further took a dig at the Ram Temple trust saying that the 'idol of lord Ram in the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple should be in the form of a child, seated in Mother Kaushalya's lap.
"My guru Swami Swaroopanand Ji Maharaj suggested that the idol of lord Ram in the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple should be in the form of a child, seated in mother Kaushalya's lap...The pictures of Ram Lalla's idol however depict the deity as a 5-year-old child," Digvijay Singh told ANI.
The leader also lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly going 'against the Dharma' for placing the idol in an under-construction temple.
"According to shastras, 'Pran Pratishtha' inside an under-construction temple is not to be done...Why are they going against the Shastras? This is the usage of dharma for politics...We will visit the temple after its construction is completed," he added.
Earlier today, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti said that Singh's words have lost importance and such people who keep speaking unnecessarily should not be talked about.
Uma Bharti, while speaking to ANI, said, "He (Digvijaya Singh) has a habit of saying something or another. His words have lost importance. Let us not talk about such people who keep speaking unnecessarily and waste our time."
Moreover, a Congress leader earlier today said that the idol that is being seated in the temple does not look like a child.
Taking to 'X', the Congress leader said, "I have been saying this from the beginning: Where is the idol of Ram Lalla, whose idol was controversial and destroyed? What was the need for the second statue? Our Guru Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Ji Maharaj had also suggested that the idol of Lord Ram in the Ram Janmabhoomi temple should be in the form of a child and should be in the lap of Mother Kaushalya. But the idol that is being seated in the temple does not look like a child."
Hanuman Garhi temple priest Mahant Raju Das on Friday called Congress leader Digvijaya Singh 'anti-Ram' and said that he has been finding faults in everything since the beginning of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
"All the idols will remain there only. Because the idol was in 'Bal Swaroop', people faced difficulty in 'Darshan'. So the trust tried to give it magnificence. The main issue was the Janmabhoomi. There is no scarcity of temples in Ayodhya. I want to tell people like Digvijaya Singh, who tried to divide society on the basis of caste, to come to Ayodhya and look at the temples," Mahant Raju Das told ANI.
"There are Ram Janaki temples built by kings and rulers of all castes. He (Digvijaya Singh) has always been anti-Ram. He has been finding faults in everything since the beginning," he added.
Earlier, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury "respectfully" declined the invitation extended by Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Trust to attend the 'Pran Prathista' ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22, months before the country heads to the polls.
The Congress described the inauguration of an "incomplete" temple as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ploy for electoral gain.
As the city of Ayodhya is buzzing with excitement as it prepares for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Lord Shri Ram Lala at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi on January 22, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inspected the arrangements in Ayodhya on Friday, expressing satisfaction with the planning and execution.
The idol of Ram Lalla was placed in the 'Garbha Griha' of the Ram Temple on Thursday amid joyous chants of 'Jai Shri Ram.'
In a significant prelude to the upcoming ceremony, a special puja was held in the sanctum sanctorum before the idol was brought inside with the help of a crane on Wednesday night.
The video shared by Sharad Sharma, media in-charge of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, showed the joyous atmosphere at the temple.
The 'Pran Pratishtha' of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya's temple will take place on January 22.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform rituals to mark the 'Pran Pratishtha' while a team of priests, led by Lakshmikant Dixit, will lead the main rituals.