Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Accuses BJP of Politicizing Lord Ram

CHANDIGARH: Ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, the Ram Mandir donation theft has snowballed into a major political issue in the hill state. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Himachal Congress president Vinay Kumar and several state cabinet ministers offered prayers at the Ram temple and Hanuman temple in Shimla on Tuesday. After offering prayers, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accused the BJP of politicising Lord Ram and said that any irregularity in donations made in the Ayodhya Temple of Lord Ram is not merely financial wrongdoing but amounts to 'Theft of Faith' of millions of devotees. He added that those responsible for the alleged irregularities in the donations made in the name of Lord Ram should introspect. "Almost everyone, including me, made donations towards the construction of the temple,’’ he said. Sukhu said, "We prayed to Lord Rama to show the right path to the people who collected donations in the name of Lord Rama and in the name of religion. It is an emotional issue for every Hindu, and Congress would stand up against the fraud. The BJP seems to believe in 'Ram naam japna, chanda-chadwa apna,' he said. Sukhu said, "A true devotee of Lord Rama will never use his name for politics.’’ BJP retorted, alleging that people have already certified Congress as 'Anti-Ram'.