Rajiv Gandhi took steps to open Ram temple, BJP people are liars: Minister Ramalinga Reddy

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 8 (ANI): Karnataka Minister and Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy on Sunday targeted the BJP for taking credit for the Ram Temple, saying "Rajiv Gandhi when he was prime minister, had taken steps to open the Ram temple."
"Who opened that temple? It was locked. Rajiv Gandhi, when he was prime minister, had taken steps to open that (Ram) temple. These BJP people are liars. They don't have any other business other than telling lies and making false propaganda," Reddy told ANI while referring to the opening of locks of the then Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1985 by former PM Rajiv Gandhi.
Further, while attacking the BJP, the minister accused the BJP party of bringing religion into politics.
"The people of Congress are born Hindus and we don't mix Hinduism with politics. These BJP people mix politics with Hinduism and they bring (Lord) Ram to politics. We don't do all those things," Reddy said.
"A circular has been issued to 34,000 temples to organise a special pooja on January 22 (on the occasion of Ram Temple 'Pran Pratishtha' in Ayodhya)," Reddy said.
Preparations are underway in full swing for the Ram Temple 'Pran Pratishtha' on January 22, which will draw dignitaries and people from all walks of life. The Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust has decided to enthrone Ram Lalla at the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram Temple at noon on January 22.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple.
The trust has sent invitations to actors Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Anupam Kher, Akshay Kumar, and ace directors Subhash Ghai, Rajkumar Hirani, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rohit Shetty, along with producer Mahaveer Jain. Additionally, South Indian celebrities Chiranjeevi, Mohanlal, Dhanush, and Rishab Shetty have also been invited.
The trust has also invited 4,000 saints of all sects for the ceremony.
Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha (consecration) ceremony of Ram Lalla (infant Lord Ram) in Ayodhya will begin on January 16, a week before the main ceremony.
A priest from Varanasi, Lakshmi Kant Dixit, will perform the main rituals of the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla. From January 14 to January 22, Ayodhya will mark the Amrit Mahautsav.
A 1008 Hundi Mahayagya will also be organised, in which thousands of devotees will be fed. Several tent cities are being erected in Ayodhya to accommodate thousands of devotees, who are expected to arrive in the temple town of Uttar Pradesh for the grand consecration of the Ram Temple. (ANI)