Following the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly criticised Pakistan for its comments on the Ram Mandir flag-hoisting ceremony, stating that the neighbouring country discussing the rights of minorities is akin to “Osama bin Laden preaching about world peace”.
“Pakistan should be the last entity that should lecture anybody on the rights of minorities and human rights. Look at their own track record, and they are doing it on the day of 26/11, the day when they carried out the most dastardly terrorist attack and claimed many, many innocent lives,” BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the flag at the Ayodhya temple on Tuesday, Pakistan issued a statement describing the event as an attempt to erase Muslim heritage and a reflection of growing pressure on religious minorities in India. The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992.
Responding sharply, the BJP called on Pakistan to introspect and reminded the country of its persecution of “not just Hindus and Sikhs but even Agha Khanis, Shias, Balochis and Ahmadiyyas”. “Even various communities within Pakistan are persecuted by the Pakistani ISI-Army infrastructure. So they should be the last person preaching,” Poonawalla added.
He also targeted the Indian Opposition, pointing out that Pakistan’s criticism of Islamophobia and Hindutva in India sounded “eerily similar to the narrative that is being spoken of by the leaders of opposition, particularly the Congress Party and Trinamool Congress.”
Also Read: PM Modi in Ayodhya today, to hoist sacred Ram Temple flag
Earlier, the MEA had also condemned Pakistan’s remarks. At the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan has no locus standi to sermonise others.
“We have seen the reported remarks and reject them with the contempt they deserve. As a country with a deeply stained record of bigotry, repression and systemic mistreatment of its minorities, Pakistan has no moral standing to lecture others. Rather than delivering hypocritical homilies, Pakistan would do better to turn its gaze inwards and focus on its own abysmal human rights records,” he stated.
As part of the Dhwajarohan Utsav on November 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted a saffron flag atop the shikhar (peak) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya, signifying the completion of the Ram Mandir’s construction. The flag measured 10 feet in height and 20 feet in length and bore the image of a radiant Sun with an ‘Om’ inscribed on it.
Also Read: 'Wounds Healing': PM Modi hoists flag atop 191-foot Ram Temple
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