Day after Cong’s Tikaram Jully attended consecration, BJP leader ‘purifies’ Rajasthan temple

BJP leader sprinkles Ganga water at Ram temple in Alwar, sparking controversy with Congress over Dalit insult allegations.

BJP leader Gyan Dev Ahuja sprinkled Ganga water at a Ram temple in Rajasthan's Alwar to "purify" it on Monday (April 7, 2025), a day after the Congress' Tikaram Jully attended the consecration ceremony there.

Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Mr. Jully and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, have termed Mr. Ahuja's act an insult to a Dalit but the BJP leader denied the charge.

Maintaining that there was no caste angle to his act, Mr. Ahuja, however, defended his action, saying Congress leaders have "no moral authority" to attend such ceremonies as the party's leadership had questioned the existence of Lord Ram and "boycotted" the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya last year.

The consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in a residential society of Alwar was held on Sunday (April 6, 2025) on the occasion of Ram Navami and Mr. Jully was in attendance.

On Monday (April 7, 2025), Mr. Ahuja said the consecration ceremony was a "good programme", but there were some "discrepancies". "I went there today and sprinkled Ganga water to purify the temple premises," he told reporters in Alwar.

"The Congress's former president Sonia Gandhi had got affidavits submitted in court, calling Lord Ram mythical. Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi boycotted the historic Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. So the party leaders have no moral authority to attend such programmes," he said.

When contacted, Mr. Ahuja told PTI that he took the step because of Congress leaders' view and approach towards Lord Ram and not because Mr. Jully is a "Dalit".