Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole stirred a row after he said that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya would be purified by the shankaracharyas if the opposition INDIA bloc came to power in the Lok Sabha polls.
Patole claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi acted against protocol in the Ram Temple construction, and it would be rectified if the opposition alliance formed the government.
"Shankaracharyas were opposing this (pran pratishtha). All the four Shankaracharyas will purify the Ram Temple. Ram Darbar will be established in that place. It is not Lord Ram's idol there, but the child form of Ram Lalla," the Congress leader said.
"Narendra Modi has acted against protocol in the Ram Temple construction. We will do it through rectification and religion," he further said.
The Ram temple was thrown open to the public after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony of the idol on January 22 in a grand event that was attended by over 10,000 people, including top sportspersons and celebrities.