Samajwadi Party (SP) lawmaker Awadhesh Prasad on Tuesday claimed the infrastructure in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh was “crumbling” and said he was “pained” to see the condition of the temple town that attracts several tourists from across the world.
Participating in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, the MP from Faizabad alleged that Ayodhya, which houses the Ram Temple, is “filled with garbage” and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “lowering the dignity of Lord Ram”.
Prasad’s remarks came amid instances of waterlogging in Ayodhya and potholes in Rampath. Acharya Satyendra Das, head priest of the Ram Temple, also alleged negligence in the construction of the temple that was inaugurated with a grand ceremony earlier this year and complained of water leak from the roof of the sanctum sanctorum during the rains.
While six officials of the public works department (PWD) and the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam were suspended, Ram Temple Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Misra ruled out any flaw in the construction of the temple.
Speaking in the Lower House, Prasad said: “I feel very upset with the state of Ayodhya… I went there a few weeks ago and saw the roads were filled with sewage water and mud.”
He said he is “pained” to see the condition of the roads, which, he claimed, is “filled with garbage”. It seems that the “garbage of the entire world is in Ayodhya”, he said.
Prasad’s comments were met with applause by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who was seated next to him.
Prasad also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inaugurated the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station in December last year and alleged that the boundary walls of the station had “crumbled”.
He further alleged that the poor were not provided any compensation for the lands that were “snatched” from them for the redevelopment of the city.
On Monday, Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also claimed “the people of Ayodhya lost their land and they were not allowed at the inauguration of the Ram Temple”, evoking a sharp response from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who said that “whether it is Rampath, Bhakti Path, Janmabhoomi Path or Ayodhya airport, compensation was given to all those whose land, house or shop was acquired”.
After the grand opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya by Modi on January 22 this year, the people of Faizabad voted for the first time and rejected the BJP. The party’s two-time MP Lallu Singh was defeated by Prasad by a margin of 54,567 votes.