‘What will we do in Ayodhya? Pran Pratistha is the job of seers’: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that on January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, she will offer prayers at a Kali temple in Kolkata and lead a mega ‘Sampriti’ (religious harmony) rally in the city.

The ‘Sarba Dharma’ rally will have religious leaders and people from all walks of life and culminate in the Park Circus maidan area, a known minority hub in Kolkata.

“Many of you have been asking me about temples (Ram Mandir). I have nothing to say. I had already said that ‘dharma jar jar, utsav sobar’ (religion is for individuals but festivity is for all)…on that day first I will visit Kali Mandir. Only I will go there. I will do a rally on January 22. Then, we will hold an interfaith rally from Hazra to Park Circus maidan and hold a meeting there. We will cover mosques, temples, churches, and gurdwaras along the way. Everybody is welcome to join the rally. People of all faiths will be there,” Banerjee said.

“On the same day, my party members will hold a rally in every block, in every district at 3 pm. It will be a Sampriti rally with the theme, all religions are equal,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief added.

“Pran Prathistha of Lord Ram is not our job. It is the job of seers and sadhus. What will we do in Ayodhya? As politicians, our job is to make infrastructure. I will do that,” Banerjee said.

The TMC’s INDIA alliance partner Congress had earlier announced that its leadership will also refrain from visiting Ayodhya during the inauguration ceremony. The CPI(M) leadership has also made it clear that they will not attend the January 22 ceremony at Ayodhya.