Not every Ram bhakt is a BJP supporter: Shashi Tharoor

Congress Working Committee CWC member and MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said that every Ram bhakt was not a BJP supporter and he saw no reason why he or the grand old party should relinquish Lord Ram to the saffron partyTharoor the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said that there were many including him who are devotees of Lord Ram and if in future they go to the temple in Ayodhya it would be to express their devotion and not hurt anyoneHe said that secularism does not mean absence of religion it means pluralism everyone can profess the religion of their choiceTharoor was speaking to reporters at the Government Law College here following a protest by the Students Federation of India SFI activists and fraternity members against him over his Lord Ramrelated post on social media platform XThe protestors called him shameless shouted slogans against him and also carried banners and placards one of which said Shashi Tharoor you are a disgrace to a democratic secular stateThe Congress MP had posted a picture of the Lord Ram idol in Ayodhya along with a message in Hindi Siyavar Ram ki jaiTharoor said the message he intended to send out through his post was his devotion to Ram and also the avoidance of Sita when hailing RamTherefore there is no need to make it into such a big issue he saidTharoor who was invited to the college for an event by the Kerala Students Union KSU further said I do not see why I have to give up to the BJP a God I believe in and pray to every day The BJP may want all Ram bhakts to vote for them But is every Ram bhakt a BJP supporter That is the question In my opinion they are not I also ask why should the Congress relinquish Ram to the BJP We can also accept and pray to God we too have religionTharoor further said that no one in the party was opposing the Ram Temple we were only opposed to the eventIf I go to a temple it is to pray and not for political reasons Someday I will go to Ayodhya but it will be on my terms he saidHe also said that he had in the past too stated that while every Hindu may desire a Ram Temple at Ayodhya I have always maintained that there was no need to demolish a mosque to build itThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever