Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Monday said that she did not wish to be present at the foundation laying programme of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya scheduled for August 5, as she was concerned about the spread of COVID-19 infection.
In a series of tweets in Hindi, Ms. Bharti said she had written to the Prime Minister’s Office and to the senior officials of the Ram Janmbhoomi trust in Ayodhya requesting them to remove her name from the list of guests who would be present at the foundation laying programme that would be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ever since she heard about BJP president Amit Shah and other party leaders testing positive, Ms. Bharti said she had been worried for Mr. Modi.
She said that for this reason, she informed the officials of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas that during the mahurat of the foundation stone programme she would be on the banks of the Saryu in Ayodhya.
Ms. Bharti said she would leave for Ayodhya from Bhopal on Monday and reach on Tuesday night. During the journey, she could come across people who are infected with COVID-19, she feared.
In such a situation, she said she would maintain distance from a place where Mr. Modi and hundreds others will gather.
“I will reach for a darshan of Ram Lalla only after Narendra Modi and the others in the gathering leave,” she said.
A former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and former MP, Ms. Bharti is among those facing trial for the demolition of the Babri Masjid. She recently recorded her statement before a special CBI court and told reporters afterwards that she was proud to be a part of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
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