Lucknow/Saharanpur, Nov 25: Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Faizabad Awadhesh Prasad on Tuesday alleged that he was not invited to the flag-hoisting ceremony held at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. The BJP dismissed the accusation as “completely political”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hoisted the “Dharm Dhwaj” atop the Ram Mandir in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel and thousands of saints, tribal representatives, devotees and guests.
Prasad claimed on social media that his “Dalit identity” was the reason he was not invited.
“If I was not called to the flag-hoisting ceremony in Ram Lalla’s court because I belong to a Dalit community, this is not the dignity of Ram but someone’s narrow mindset. Ram is for everyone. My fight is not for position or invitation but for respect, equality and the Constitution,” he wrote on X.
On Monday, he posted that he had not yet received an invitation. “If I get the invite, I will leave everything and go barefoot.”
Supporting Prasad, Congress MP Imran Masood said in Saharanpur that excluding the local MP from the prime minister’s programme was “unfortunate” and alleged that Prasad’s caste may have been the reason.
“If the PM comes and the local MP is not invited, it is extremely unfortunate. It seems his Dalit identity became the reason,” Masood said.
The BJP rejected these remarks. Party spokesperson Harishchandra Srivastava said the allegations were “baseless and purely political”.
“If the Ayodhya MP truly had devotion for Lord Ram, he would have joined the people of Ayodhya in the programme where the prime minister unfurled the religious flag,” he said.
Srivastava accused the SP of maintaining an “anti-Ram temple” stance.
“The SP’s role in the past regarding the Ram temple is well known. These allegations reflect the party’s frustration,” he said.
SP leaders have not visited the Ram temple even after 45 crore devotees have come to Ayodhya since its construction began, the BJP leader added.
Prasad had defeated BJP’s two-time MP and temple movement veteran Lallu Singh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, preventing him from completing a hat-trick.(PTI)
