Dalits kept away from Ayodhya event, says : BJP ally

Lucknow : Striking a discordant note right on the eve of the most awaited 'bhumi pujan' ceremony in the country for the grand Ram temple, Apna Dal MLA Choudhary Amar Singh on Tuesday claimed that Dalits have been ignored when invitations were extended for the ceremony in Ayodhya.

The Shohratgarh MLA said that President Ram Nath Kovind should have also been invited for the event. "The shilanyas was done in the Congress regime by the then President Buta Singh. He did the 'shilanyas' and he was a Dalit," said the MLA from Apna Dal (S), an ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

"Dalits and backwards have been deprived of an opportunity to attend the Ayodhya bhumi pujan event. The haste which PM Modi showed for building the temple should have also been shown for providing houses and pensions to the poor," he said. "Those who struggled for the temple have been ignored.

The trust constituted for the construction of the temple does not have people from backward, SC and ST communities. It is a 'Ved Pratha trust' and seems that Lord Ram belongs only to the BJP," Choudhary Amar Singh said.