Iqbal Ansari, ex-Babri litigant, gifts miniature model of Ram temple to his gunner

New Delhi: A new example of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb has come to the fore from Ayodhya when Iqbal Ansari, a former litigant in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land suit, bought a miniature replica of Ram Temple to gift one of his aides.

“This is replica of the Ram Temple. People have different faith. I have also bought to gift for my gunner. The demand for these types of things has increased, so I also bought this,” Iqbal said.

Notably, Iqbal Ansari has received an invitation to attend the Ram Mandir inauguration ceremony, scheduled to be held on January 22 in Ayodhya. The invitation has been extended by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust.

Iqbal Ansari has been a key supporter of the Babri Masjid and had also received an invitation to attend the ‘bhoomipujan’ ceremony of Ram Mandir, held on August 5, 2020.

Earlier in the day, Iqba Ansaril took a pot-shot at the Congress party and said that there was no need to oppose the pran-pratishtha ceremony at the temple.

“I belong to Ayodhya and the land of Ayodhya is religious, people place their devotion into the city. All Opposition parties are opposing it. But we are not opposing it, we are clearly saying that come to Ayodhya and take a holy dip in the Saryu river – cleanse your body and mind,” he said.

Iqbal further said, “There is no need to oppose it, ‘pran pratishtha’ is going to take place. People should come and give an account to the Lord, of whatever they did in their lives, and seek his blessings.”

The Congress party on Wednesday, ‘respectfully’ declined the invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya on January 22. The grand old party accused the BJP of using Ayodhya as a ‘political project’ and called it a ‘BJP/RSS’ event.

The Congress said that Lord Ram is worshipped by millions of people in the country and religion is a personal matter.

“But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain,” the party said.

“While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event,” it added.