Speaking during a programme at his official residence, Nepal PM Oli said Lord Ram is Nepali, not Indian.
Amid ongoing diplomatic tussle with India, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday claimed that that Hindu deity Lord Ram was actually born in Ayodhya village of Nepal and not in India as claimed.
Speaking during a programme at his official residence, Oli said Lord Ram is Nepali, not Indian.
"Although real Ayodhya lies at Thori, city in the west of Birgunj, India has claimed that Lord Rama was born there. Due to these continuous claims even we have believed that deity Sita got married to Prince Rama of India. However, in reality, Ayodhya is a village lying west of Birgunj," Oli claimed.
He accused India of cultural encroachment by "creating a fake Ayodhya."
"Till now we have remained under the belief that Ram, the man Sita married, was an Indian... he was not, he was a Nepali," Oli said.
Condemning Oli for his remarks, BJP national spokesperson Bizay Sonkar Shastri said that the Left parties even in India played with people's faith, and the Communists in Nepal will be rejected by the masses in the same way they have been here.
"Lord Ram is a matter of faith for us, and people will not allow anybody, be it prime minister of Nepal or anyone, to play with this," he said as quoted by PTI.
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi also slammed Nepal PM for claiming that Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, is in Nepal and Lord Rama was Nepali.
"#Oli #NepalPM seems 2hv lost his mental balance or is puppet &parrot like mouthing lines scripted by desperate #Chinese. 1st he claimed territories never earlier claimed by #Nepal. Now he relocates #Ram #Sita #Ayodhya & #RamRajya a few hundred miles from Ayodhya inside Nepal!," he tweeted.
Speaking at an event on the birth anniversary of Nepalese poet Bhanubhakta at the Prime Minister's residence in Kathmandu, Oli said that Nepal "has become a victim of cultural encroachment and its history has been manipulated."
"Balmiki Ashram is in Nepal and the holy place where King Dashrath had executed the rites to get the son is in Ridi. Dashrath's son Ram was not an Indian and Ayodhya is also in Nepal," he claimed.
Oli questioned how Lord Rama could come to Janakpur to marry Sita when there was "no means" of communication. He further said that it to be impossible for Lord Rama to come to Janakpur from present Ayodhya that lies in India.
"Janakpur lies here and Ayodhya there and there is talk of marriage. There was neither telephone nor mobile then how could he know about Janakpur," Oli said.
The remarks are likely to create controversy as Hindus in India widely believe Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh as Ram's birthplace. Janakpur in Nepal, on the other hand, is mythologically revered as the birthplace of Sita.
In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Janakpur in Dhanusa District of Nepal and had inaugurated a direct bus service to Ayodhya as part of a ‘Ramayan Circuit’ to promote religious tourism. He had also visited the 20th century Janaki temple, dedicated to Sita, where he offered special prayers.
Modi had also announced a Rs 100 crore package to develop Janakpur.
Oli's comments come amid his government's ongoing diplomatic tussle with India. Nepal's Parliament had in June unanimously voted to amend the Constitution to update the country's new political map featuring Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, territories traditionally belonging to India.
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 "Nepal PM Oli declares 'Lord Ram is Nepali'; BJP debunks claim, Congress says he lost 'mental balance'")
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