My name has 'Rama', I've built Ram temple, too: Siddaramaiah

A wily politician, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is using the ‘Rama’ in his name and a Rama temple he has help build in his Assembly constituency to take on the BJP after being targeted as anti-Hindu.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) revels in branding Siddaramaiah as pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu with a view to dent his popularity and derail the ruling Congress government.

CM’s masterstroke

As the BJP and its allied organisations try to appropriate the upcoming Ram temple in Ayodhya with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections, Siddaramaiah has hit back what even his critics say is a political masterstroke.

The construction of the shrine began in 2020 while prayers started two years later. His followers are using social media to give wide publicity to the temple, taking friends and foes by surprise.

The original Rama temple there was in a dilapidated state. Thanks to Siddaramaiah, now it has a new sanctum sanctorum, a courtyard and a bright exterior. It occupies an area of 40 X 60 feet on a plot of 120 X 45 feet.

The temple complex has 10 deities including Lord Rama. Ram Navami is celebrated with grandeur at the shrine. Villagers say Siddaramaiah has built the temple with special care.

Secular man

While many consider him an atheist, Siddaramaiah does not shy away from talking about Hinduism. At the same time, he makes it very clear that he has respect for all religions.

"My name also has Rama, and I am also a devotee of Rama," he often says in his speeches if the occasion demands.

His confidant and minister H Anjaneya is fond of saying: "The BJP's Rama is in Ayodhya, our Rama is Siddaramaiah."

Politics and religion

Anjaneya says it's good that Siddaramaiah was not invited to the January 22 inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. “Siddaramaiah himself is ‘Rama’, so why should he go and worship that Rama?" is his argument.

The Chief Minister is blunt while addressing the question of religion.

"We do not make political profit-loss calculations. As a representative of the people, I have participated in religious programmes such as the inauguration of hundreds of temples and their restoration,” he said recently.

Interfaith equality

“I have built a temple of Rama in my village and worship it with devotion. Similarly, I pay respects by participating in religious events in mosques as well as churches. Interfaith equality is the aspiration of our constitution. We all have to commit to it," he said.

When he was the Leader of the Opposition, Siddarmamaiah opposed the collection of money for the Ayodhya temple on the grounds that no one knew for sure where the donations were going.

He would say that he would build a Rama temple in his own village rather than donate for the one in Ayodhya.

Wife a devout Hindu

But the BJP continues to target Siddaramaiah because of his atheist and socialist credentials and because he is widely seen as a leader of the minorities, backward Classes and Dalits.

His aides also say that Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi Siddaramaiah is a devout Hindu and a worshipper of Lord Anjaneya, or Hanuman.

She is said to be the reason behind the renovation and building of the Rama temple for which Siddaramaiah gets all the credit.

Ayodhya visit

Parvathi Siddaramaiah reportedly asked their son Yatindra Siddaramaiah to play a role in the temple construction. It came up at a cost of more than Rs 50 lakh, Rame Gowda, a resident of Siddaramanahundi, told The Federal.

Siddramaiah also says that he will visit Ayodhya one day after the temple is inaugurated.

Some BJP leaders say he is taking the name of Lord Rama in view of the coming elections.

But one BJP leader who did not want to be identified by name admitted that the Chief Minister had blunted the attacks on him by helping to build a Rama temple in his own village. “It is indeed a masterstroke by Siddaramaiah,” the BJP leader said.