BJP leader Uma Bharti on Monday, 3 August, said that she would be staying away from the Ram Temple foundation-laying ceremony in Ayodhya as a precaution against coronavirus.
While she will be in Ayodhya, she said that she will visit the site and do the 'darshan' of 'Ram Lalla' only after PM Narendra Modi and others in the group have left.
Bharti's announcement comes a day after Home Minister Amit Shah announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus.
What Uma Bharti Said
In a series of tweets, Bharti said that she since the news of Home Minister Amit Shah and that of some Uttar Pradesh BJP leaders testing COVID-19 positive surfaced, she has been worried about the health of those at the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, "particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi".
Bharti has, therefore, decided that during the foundation-laying ceremony of the temple that PM Modi is supposed to conduct, she will be at the banks of the river Sarayu in Ayodhya.
She further added that on her journey from Bhopal to Ayodhya, she may come in contact with a COVID-afflicted person and for the same reason, will not be at the programme at the same time as PM Modi.
Bharti said that she's requested the Ram Temple authorities to remove her name from the list of entities to be present at the ceremony. She also said that her decision has been communicated to Prime Minister Modi's office.
The 5 August Programme
Besides Bharti, other senior BJP leaders like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi had been invited for the 5 August programme.
Advani and Joshi have said that they will attend the ground-breaking ceremony – popularly known as bhoomi pujan – for the temple over video-conference, reported NDTV.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ayodhya to take part in the ceremony. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is expected to be there too.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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