Uddhav Thackeray: President Murmu must perform Ram temple's consecration ceremony

Mumbai, Jan 13 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday demanded that the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya be performed by President Droupadi Murmu as it is a matter of "national pride and the country's self-respect".

Speaking at a press conference here, he also said he will invite Murmu to the Kalaram temple in Nashik.

Thackeray had earlier announced that on January 22, the day of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, he along with his party leaders would visit the historical Kalaram temple and perform 'maha aarti' on the banks of the Godavari river.

When the Somnath temple in Gujarat was restored, the country's first president Dr Rajendra Prasad presided over the ceremony, Thackeray pointed out.

"Since this (Ayodhya Ram temple) is a matter of national pride and related to the country's self-respect, the consecration ceremony should be conducted by President Murmu," he said.

Notably, Vishva Hindu Parishad working president Alok Kumar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Ram Lal and Ram temple construction committee chairperson Nripendra Mishra on Friday called on Murmu and invited her to the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

Thackeray, meanwhile, also said some of the Shiv Sena workers who were part of the 'kar seva' during the Ramjanmabhoomi agitation in 1992 will be felicitated at his party's convention in Nashik.

Reacting to Thackeray's demand, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said he was "reading (Sena (UBT) MP) Sanjay Raut's script", and he should have read the VHP's tweet about the invitation to President Murmu.

Shelar also dared Thackeray and his son and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray to contest Lok Sabha polls and get elected. PTI