Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday demanded that President Droupadi Murmu be asked to perform the January 22 consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya as it was a matter of “national pride” and pertained to the “country’s self-respect”.
The former Maharashtra Chief Minister also wrote to President Murmu, inviting her to participate in an aarti at Kalaram temple in Nashik on January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Taking potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr. Thackeray wryly remarked that he hoped “there [would] be less of the PM in the Ram Mandir” and more idols of Lord Rama.