Ram Mandir inauguration: 'LK Advani was sent an invitation only after...'

Bengaluru, Jan 3: Critising the saffron party, former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar, who switched to Congress just before the 2023 Assembly polls, said veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani was earlier asked to watch the inaugural ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya from home.

"Advani's contribution towards Ram Mandir is enormous. He was sent an invitation by the Ram Mandir trust only after media reports. He was told to sit at home and watch the inauguration, citing his age.

"This is like inviting him and also not extending an invitation. What does it mean if they invite Advani and indirectly ask him not to attend the ceremony?" Shettar said while interacting with the mediapersons.

"I had collected Rs 2 crore as funds for Ram Mandir. After changing the party, we are not considered 'Ram bhakts'," he said, adding "the BJP is making charges of appeasement of minorities in the backdrop of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections", he added.

Shettar also said the Congress-led government in Karnataka should withdraw the case related to the Ayodhya movement immediately.

"I wouldn't agree if anyone said that the government has done this. Let the BJP protest over the matter. This might be a court order, or maybe the police took a call. The BJP was in power in the last tenure... they could have withdrawn the cases, and the matter would have ended,” Shettar stated. Reacting to the arrest of Kar Sevaks who took part in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the 1990s in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday that his government was not pursuing the politics of hatred in this regard.

Speaking to reporters, he said: "What should be done to those who commit wrongdoings? Should we let them go scot-free?"

Sources said that the police had formed a special team and prepared a list of accused persons who were involved in police cases during the 1992 Ram Mandir movement, which resulted in violence and communal clashes.