'We are in favour of Ram Mandir': Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

On 31st December, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that his government and his party are in full support of Ram Mandir. Bengaluru | Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says, "Those who break the law will be arrested, no one will be arrested if they are innocent people will not be harmed in our government, and those who committed crimes will be prosecuted…We are not against the issue of Ayodhya Ram Mandir,… pic.twitter.com/MNEE2s7e2f — ANI December 31, 2023 A day earlier, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah had said that so far he had not received the invitation for the consecration ceremony and he would consider whether to attend it or not only after getting the invite. Strikingly, as per media reports, Siddaramaiah gave these remarks to cover up his minister’s controversial statement against the Ram Mandir inauguration ceremony describing it as a “political stunt” just like ‘Pulwama’. Earlier in the day on 31st December, Congress leader and Karnataka Planning and Statistics Minister, Dasharathaiah Sudhakar claimed that the BJP government was using a similar strategy and exploiting the Ram Mandir as it used Pulwama in previous Lok Sabha elections. Sudhakar said, “The BJP government used the Pulwama terror attack to secure votes in the last Lok Sabha elections, and this time, they are holding Lord Ram’s photo now.” While speaking to media personnel in Chitradurga, he added, “The inauguration of Ayodhya Ram Mandir is a stunt.