Ram temple consecration ceremony should be performed by President Murmu: Uddhav Thackeray

Uddhav Thackeray. File Pic

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday demanded that the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya be performed by President Droupadi Murmu as it is a matter of "national pride and the country's self-respect", reported the PTI.

Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackeray said that he will invite President Droupadi Murmu to the Kalaram temple in Nashik district of Maharashtra.

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Uddhav Thackeray had earlier announced that on January 22, the day of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, he along with his party leaders would visit the historical Kalaram temple and perform 'maha aarti' on the banks of the Godavari river.

When the Somnath temple in Gujarat was restored, the country's first president Dr Rajendra Prasad presided over the ceremony, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief pointed out.

"Since this (Ayodhya Ram temple) is a matter of national pride and related to the country's self-respect, the consecration ceremony should be conducted by President Murmu," he said, as per the PTI,

Notably, Vishva Hindu Parishad working president Alok Kumar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Ram Lal and Ram temple construction committee chairperson Nripendra Mishra on Friday called on Murmu and invited her to the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

Uddhav Thackeray, meanwhile, also said some of the Shiv Sena workers who were part of the 'kar seva' during the Ramjanmabhoomi agitation in 1992 will be felicitated at his party's convention in Nashik, the news agency reported on Saturday.

Reacting to Thackeray's demand, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said he was "reading (Sena (UBT) MP) Sanjay Raut's script", and he should have read the VHP's tweet about the invitation to President Droupadi Murmu.

Ashish Shelar also dared Uddhav Thackeray and his son and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray to contest Lok Sabha polls and get elected.

Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday asked people to end dynastic politics as he toured the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra which is represented by Shrikant Shinde, son of Chief Minister and president of the rival Sena faction Eknath Shinde.

Speaking at a rally, he also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's repeated visits to Maharashtra underline the state's importance in the coming Lok Sabha elections

(with PTI inputs)