Congress MP KL Sharma alleges a party delegation, led by Ajay Rai, was unfairly denied permission for ‘darshan’ at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple. He claims they informed officials in advance and had no political motive, accusing the administration of harassment.
Following the alleged house arrest of Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai in Ayodhya, Congress MP from Amethi KL Sharma on Tuesday alleged that the Congress delegation was denied permission to offer prayers at the Ram Temple despite informing the administration in advance about its visit.
Speaking to ANI, Sharma, who was part of the delegation led by Ajay Rai, said the leaders had come only to offer prayers and not to stage any protest or engage in political activity. “We had come here to do darshan. I found out just last night that they had turned the entire place into a fortress so that we would not be able to go for darshan. What problem do they have with us going for darshan? We want them to take us for darshan. We have not come for a protest, and we have not come to do politics. We explicitly asked for permission after giving them the proper information. Instead, they set up a cover at night and arrested our workers,” Sharma alleged.
‘Not Here for Politics’: Sharma Questions Administration
He further accused the administration of giving the visit a political colour and questioned why the delegation was prevented from visiting the temple. “They are stopping us from going for darshan of the temple in which we have faith. Now they are claiming that we have come to do politics, but we arrived only after giving prior information that our delegation was coming and that we would go for darshan. They should have just taken us for darshan and brought us back. We have not come here to do politics; this is all a cover-up story,” he said.
Referring to the recent Ram Mandir donation controversy, Sharma also praised a group of local lawyers for allegedly deciding not to represent the accused in the case. “I praise the 12 lawyers of this place. They have taken a firm stand that they will not fight the case of such culprits,” he said.
Ajay Rai Alleges House Arrest, Vows to Visit Shrine
Earlier, Ajay Rai alleged that he and other party leaders were forcibly detained by the police late Monday night around 11:30 PM and brought to the university guest house, claiming they were being harassed to prevent them from visiting the shrine. The developments come amid an ongoing political controversy surrounding the alleged embezzlement of temple donations at the Ram Mandir.
In a video statement, Rai said, “We all intended to visit Ayodhya to seek the blessings of Lord Shri Ram. We had formed a delegation to offer prayers and seek darshan. We also wanted to pray to the Lord regarding the disrepute brought to this holy site by the RSS and BJP through the theft of offerings and donations, as well as land scams. Instead, our colleagues and I were placed under house arrest.”
He asserted that the delegation is prepared to face jail time to exercise their right to visit the shrine. “We are being subjected to harassment and are being prevented from visiting the temple. We are prepared to do whatever it takes, even if it means going to jail or fasting, to ensure we get to offer our prayers,” Rai added.
Ajay Rai’s wife, Rina Rai, took to his official social media account on X to condemn the police action, asserting that the BJP government was trying to silence her husband and that the Congress would continue its fight against the alleged irregularities. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)