While India is eagerly waiting for the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in January, politics have started on the issue. Ayodhya's Ram Temple will be opened after a grand opening ceremony that will be attended by VVIPs of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to do the prestigious Pran Prathishta Puja. For the unversed, Pran Pratishtha is a ritual in Hindu and Jainism, through which the idol of a deity is consecrated in a temple. This work is done through rituals and in this the idol is installed for the first time amidst the recitation of bhajans and mantras. Now, veteran BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has sparked a massive row after he raised question of 'Modi performing Pran Prathishta Puja'. The BJP MP highlighted that PM Modi abandoned his wife then how he should be allowed to perform the sacred Puja.
"How can we Ram bhakts allow Modi to join the performing of the Pran Prathishta Puja of the Ram Lala murti in Ayodhya, when Ram spent almost one and half decades, and waged a war, to rescue his wife Sita? Modi is instead known for abandoning his wife, and yet he will do the puja?" wrote BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.
It is pertinent to mention here that Swamy's comment on PM Modi's wife did not go down well on social media. Many users lambasted him over his insensitive remarks that too at a time when the dream of Ram Mandir is all set to turn into a reality. A user wrote, "I appreciate Vajpayee ji and Modi ji's political savvy in not appointing you as a minister. Though I was disappointed at the time, I now recognize their adept ability to assess individuals and believe they made the right decision."
Another user wrote, "Sir I guess you've lost decency and the usage of parliamentary language. All the Ram Bhakts will get angry on you if you'll use such words for PM Modi. In reality, all Ram Bhakts want PM Modi to do the Pran Pratishtha Puja of Ram Mandir."
Did PM Modi abandon his wife?
Narendra Modi and Jashodaben had an arranged marriage in the custom of the caste of Vadnagar. While PM Modi was 18, Jashodaben was 17 at that time. However, soon after marriage, PM Modi went to somewhere. Two years after that PM Modi returned to Vadnagar. A few years back, Jashodaben's elder brother Sombhai Modi issued a statement to explain that the marriage was forced on a teenaged Narendra. Sombhai said the marriage was forced on Modi by his parents when he was a teenager in keeping with the old orthodox tradition of fixing marriages between children and that it was never consummated as Modi walked out of the marriage soon after it was solemnized.