Hyderabad, Oct 24 (PTI) The removal of a large statue of Lord Ram from a temple here on Saturday, triggered a political row with the BJP and VHP hitting out at the Congress government over the move.
The statue was installed at the Goddess Kanaka Durga temple at Basheerbagh here during Dussehra celebrations.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders had then announced that the locality would be known as Sriram Chowk and not Basheerbagh.
It was removed on Saturday by the temple management committee, official sources said, adding that it is routine to take away the statue after the conclusion of Dussehra festivities.
State BJP president N Ramchander Rao said people will neither forget nor forgive the Congress government over the statue’s removal.
“Not the first time a Congress government has tried to remove an idol of Shri Ram. In 1949, after the appearance of Ram Lalla’s idol in Ayodhya, PM Nehru pressured Congress-led Uttar Pradesh government to have it removed. Today Congress has disappeared in Uttar Pradesh,” he said in a post on X.
After the statue’s removal at Basheerbagh , same fate awaits Congress in Telangana, he said.
VHP National Spokesperson Ravinuthala Shashidhar said a 108 ft tall idol would be installed at the temple in the future.
He also said that the day was not far when several towns in the state, including Hyderabad, would regain their old names. PTI SJR VVK SJR ROH
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