Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah building Ram temple in his village

Politics

Both Siddaramaiah and HDK have spoken against the ongoing fund collection drive for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

TNM Staff

File image/PTI

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday that he is part of an effort to build a Ram temple at his home village in Mysuru district days after he publicly spoke against donating money for the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.  Speaking to reporters, the ex-CM said that such temples are constructed in all villages and he is building a similar one in his own village. He also alleged that the BJP was exploiting the emotions of the public to raise funds for the temple in Ayodhya. He further said that those collecting money from the public for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya should be made accountable as it raises suspicion about “misuse”. He questioned that in the past too, money was collected from the public for the same purpose but there are no details of such funds or bricks collected in those drives. Read: Ram Mandir: Siddaramaiah questions fund drive, HDK says he was threatened Read: How the Sangh is collecting funds for Ayodhya Ram temple This comes Siddaramaiah, on February 16, had said that he will not contribute to the Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpana Abhiyan drive due to the disputed nature of the land and instead said he is willing to donate if a temple is being built elsewhere. He further said while the Supreme Court has given its verdict on the matter, there is still lingering controversy surrounding the issue. This statement led Rural Development Minister KS Eshwarappa to equate Siddaramaiah with PFI General Secretary Anis Ahmed, who has been booked by Mangaluru police for a similar statement. Anis urged Muslims not to donate money for the temple, calling it an RSS Mandir. Not only Siddaramaiah, but former CM HD Kumaraswamy had also spoken strongly against the ongoing fund collection drive for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. He also said that he was “threatened” for not contributing to the fund. He said he is against the construction of the temple in Ayodhya and also he is against the donation drive by private entities. He also questioned the accountability of the fund collection drive and asked what happened to the funds collected earlier for this purpose.

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