The Congress party has now come out and suggested that the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony for the construction of the Bhavya Ram Mandir at Ayodhya should be conducted virtually. Earlier, the same suggestion was made by their alliance partner in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena. The Bhoomi Pujan is set to occur on the 5th of August, 2020.
Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra from the Congress party and Cabinet Minister in the current government, Ashok Chavan, said, “All the religious places have been shut due to the Coronavirus outbreak. If Bhumi Pujan could be done virtually it would be good.”
https://twitter.com/TimesNow/status/1288049303949213698?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwEarlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had called for conducting the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony through video conferencing. However, neither Thackeray nor Chavan have offered any opinion as to how it could be done and whether such a momentous occasion for the Hindu community could be compromised with. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad had slammed the Shiv Sena supremo for his remark.
Congress supporter Saket Gokhale had also filed a petition at the Allahabad High Court seeking a stay on the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony in the first week of August. Gokhale had alleged that the ceremony was in violation of ‘Unlock 2.0’ guidelines. The Allahabad High Court was not convinced and proceeded to dismiss the plea.
The Bhoomi Pujan ceremony has brought out the anti-Hindu nature of the ‘secular’ political parties in India. The Communists claimed that telecasting the event live was against ‘India’s secular image’. Previously, the Congress party and the NCP have also objected to Prime Minister Modi attending the event.