Ram temple banner with Akhilesh Yadav photo outside SP office puts party in Catch-22

In a quick disclaimer, the SP said that Ashutosh Singh “is not an active member of the party”, and added that Singh’s “intention behind putting the hoarding was to prove that the SP is not anti-Ram”.

“Lord Ram is the basis of our life, and our faith… Democracy in India can’t be imagined without Lord Ram. The (Ram) Temple is a symbol of faith… There are so many who must have dreamt of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya… Lord Ram is not for politics but belongs to everyone. The Samajwadi Party respects all religions. But, as a Hindu we are proud that a grand temple is being built for Lord Ram there after so many years, and that the Lord will move from a tent to a temple,” a statement issued by the party read.

While party chief spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary said that he has not seen the hoarding and doesn’t know who Ashutosh Singh is, SP national spokesperson Faraz Uddin Kidwai told The Indian Express that Singh was not an active member of the party. “This Ashutosh Singh is not an active member of the party. I am not sure if he held a post in the SP’s Yuvjan Sabha,” Kidwai said.

“Lord Ram is equally everyone’s. The BJP has no monopoly over a God, and hence, the SP doesn’t need its permission to worship Lord Ram. When Lord Ram calls us, we will go,” the SP leader added.

The SP’s stand on the January 22 event is still vague with SP MP Dimple Yadav, party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s wife, recently saying she would attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony if invited. On the other hand, Akhilesh had said that he would go to the temple whenever God would want him to.

Meanwhile, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has not made it clear whether the former UP chief minister will be invited for the consecration event.
While the BJP is going all out for the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ or the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple, the SP is treading carefully on the issue. The reason for this, party leaders have said, is that the Opposition party knows it cannot portray itself to be on either side – against the temple, or for it. Knowing that it depends substantially on Muslim votes in the state – something that was evident in the 2022 state Assembly polls too – the SP does not want to irk the minority community.
The SP also does not want to turn its back on the Temple event, knowing that a large section of UP’s population is celebrating the historic event.