Will Visit Kalighat Temple On January 22, Hold Interfaith Rally: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
Amid the political race to temple visits ahead of the Ram Temple event, several political parties and their leaders are visiting temples, ordering poojas, recitations and so on. After the Karnataka government ordering the temples to make special pooja on January 22, the day the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya scheduled, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is conducting “Sunderkand” recitation, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a stern critic of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, today announced that she will visit Kalighat Temple on January 22.
The chief minister said that she will offer prayer at Kali temple in Kolkata and lead a mega religious harmony rally in the city. As per the report, a rally named ‘Sarba Dharma’ will be attended by religious leaders and people from all walks of life. The rally will end in the Park Circus Maidan area, a famous minority hub in Kolkata, the Indian Express reported
Speaking about the programmes, Banerjee said that the events includes an interfaith rally, covering mosques, temples churches and gurdwaras along the way. “Many of you have been asking me about temples (Ram Mandir). I have nothing to say. I had already said that ‘dharma jar jar, utsav sobar’ (religion is for individuals but festivity is for all) …on that day first I will visit Kali Mandir. Only I will go there. I will do a rally on January 22. Then, we will hold an interfaith rally from Hazra to Park Circus Maidan and hold a meeting there. We will cover mosques, temples, churches, and gurdwaras along the way. Everybody is welcome to join the rally. People of all faiths will be there,” the Trinamool Congress chief said. “On the same day, my party members will hold a rally in every block, in every district at 3 pm. It will be a Sampriti rally with the theme, all religions are equal,” she added
Taking a swipe at the BJP for its politicisation of the Ram Temple, Banerjee said that Pran Prathistha of Lord Ram is not their (BJP) job. It is, she says, the job of seers and sadhus. “What will we do in Ayodhya? As politicians, our job is to make infrastructure. I will do that,” Banerjee added.
TMC’s alliance partner Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today during his Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra said that the BJP and RSS politicised the Ram Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya.
