Ayodhya seers up in arms over Oli's remarks on Lord Ram

Saints and seers in Ayodhya are up in arms over the statement made by Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli that the real Ayodhya was in Nepal and Lord Ram was a Nepali Mahant Narendra Giri, head of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), the apex body of saints, said that the statement made by the Nepal premier was 'unfortunate and mischievous'.

He told reporters that there were enough evidences to prove that the real Ayodhya was the one in Uttar Pradesh and Lord Ram was born here.

"No one should create any confusion on the issue," he warned.

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, president of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, said, "Lord Ram was a 'Chakravarti' emperor. Many countries including Nepal were under his protege. Ayodhya has links with Nepal from 'Treta Yug'. Even today, a wedding procession goes to Janakpur from Ayodhya. Millions of years old tradition has continued. It is not appropriate to speak on ancient tradition and the 'sanatani' system. Devotees of Lord Ram are not going to tolerate this. Nepal PM's statement is unfortunate."

Mahant Raju Das of the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya also slammed the Nepal's Prime minister for making 'uncalled for statements'.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take up the issue and stop this kind of misinformation being spread all around by vested interests," he said.

Mahant Shashikant Das of Saryu Nitya Aarti, on the other hand said that he is writing to the prime Minister, urging him to intervene and prevent such misinformation campaigns.

"The Nepal Prime Minister is making such statements at the behest of China but he should know that it will not have any impact on the people of India who firmly believe that Ayodhya is the abode of Lord Ram," he stated.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also reacted sharply to Oli's statement on Lord Ram. Regional secretary of the VHP, Ambarish Kumar said, "Ayodhya is the birthplace of Lord Ram. This is mentioned in religious scriptures. Crores of Hindus have faith in him. The mind of Oli is not in good health, so he speaks anything. Ancient texts clearly say that where there is Saryu, there is Ayodhya."

Meanwhile, UP deputy chief minister Keshav Maurya also asked Oli not to make 'undignified comments' on such issues.

"Making such remarks shows that he is 'mentally bankrupt'. Nepal was a part of Aryavrat (original India) and Oli should read up history before making such comments," he said.

Nepal's Prime Minister Oli, on Monday, had stoked a major political controversy by claiming that the 'real' Ayodhya lies in Nepal, not in India and that Lord Ram was born in Thori in southern Nepal.

Condemning Oli for his remarks, BJP national spokesperson Bizay Sonkar Shastri said that the Left parties, even in India, have played with people's faith, and the Communists in Nepal will be rejected by the masses in the same way.

"Lord Ram is a matter of faith for us, and people will not allow anybody, be it Prime Minister of Nepal or anyone, to play with this," he said.

Speaking at an event on the birth anniversary of Nepalese poet Bhanubhakta at the Prime Minister's residence in Kathmandu, Oli had said that Nepal 'has become a victim of cultural encroachment and its history has been manipulated.'

Bhanubhakta was born in 1814 in Tanhu of western Nepal and is credited for translating Valmiki's Ramayana into Nepali language. He died in 1868.