As per report a few hours later, Siddaramaiah was forced to state to manage the burning controversy after the bjp attacked the ruling congress on the issue. He called the ayodhya temple “good news” and asserted that he too was a “Ramanjaneya Bhakta” (devotee of Lord ram and Lord Hanuman) and never opposed the building of the ayodhya temple. “We are not against the issue of ayodhya ram Mandir, nor are we against building a temple either. We are in favour of ram Mandir…” the cm said. This is not the first time that Siddaramaiah has resorted to emphasising that he has “Ram” in his name to defend a controversial statement or his government.
In 2021, during a session in the karnataka legislative assembly, bjp leaders began impromptu sloganeering of “Jai Shri Ram” during a discussion on the fuel price rise. The Basavaraj Bommai-led bjp government was in power at the time, and Siddaramaiah was the leader of the opposition. Siddaramaiah was quoting a post on social media site X (previously Twitter) by rajya sabha member Subramanian Swamy on the prices of fuel.
“The price of petrol in Ram’s india was Rs 93, whereas it was Rs 51 in Sita’s nepal and Rs 53 in Ravana’s Lanka. These aren’t my words. They’re the words of Swamy, who is a bjp leader and a rajya sabha member,” said Siddaramaiah when he was met with bjp MLAs chanting “Jai Shri Ram” in the house. A miffed Siddaramaiah asked, “Why are you chanting? Is it because a litre of petrol has touched Rs 100? I am also a devotee of Lord Rama. I have Rama in my name. My name is Sidda-Rama-iah.” Siddaramaiah spoke of how he had helped build a ram temple in his native village Siddaramanahundi near Mysuru. He had then accused the bjp of manipulating the ram temple issue for political gain and also questioned the fund collection process and utilisation, particularly since it involves public funds.
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