West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led an all-faith rally across Kolkata on Monday, hours after the Ram temple in Ayodhya was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Banerjee, accompanied by religious leaders of various faiths and members of her Trinamool Congress party, began the “Sanghati March” from Hazra More in South Kolkata. Her first stop was the Kali temple in Kalighat, where she offered prayers.

This came a day after her nephew and Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee remarked that his religion did not teach to accept a place of worship built over hatred and violence.

Abhishek Banerjee made the statement in the context of the construction of the Ram temple on the site of the Babri Masjid. The mosque was demolished by Hindutva extremists on December 6, 1992, because they believed that it stood on the spot on which the deity Ram had been born. The incident had triggered communal riots across the country.

Banerjee also visited a gurudwara in Karcha and a church in Park Circus. She then went to the Park Circus Maidan, where she will address a rally.

After the march, Banerjee said that the country could only be saved if the residents of West Bengal take initiatives, reported The Telegraph.

“The BJP not only tries to divide the Hindus, it is also creating a section of middlemen among Muslims who are trying to divide the minorities,” she claimed. “I never indulge in such things.”

The chief minister said that she has no objection to devotees worshipping Ram or any other deities, adding that her problem is with majoritarian political groups who issue diktats on what to wear and what to eat coming from.

“I have my utmost respect for both Ram and Sita,” she said. “But they [the BJP] never utter the name of Sita. Are they anti-women?”

Opposition to temple inauguration

In a joint statement on Monday, 22 civil society groups said that the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a dangerous precedent for minorities in India.

“The planned ‘consecration’ of the temple by Prime Minister Modi and other members of the ruling BJP party and RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] stalwarts is a signal that India has moved to the brink of implementing the long-term RSS goals of making India a Hindu Rashtra [state] and replacing the Constitution with the Manusmriti,” the statement read.

Several parties have also opposed the inauguration of the Ram temple, alleging that the religious event is being politicised by the BJP to seek electoral gains ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have also skipped the Ayodha event.

Ahead of the ceremony, all four shankaracharyas – pontiffs of major Hindu shrines – had also announced that they would not attend the consecration of the temple.

The heads of the Puri and Joshimath shrines had said that they would not attend the inauguration because religious scriptures are not being adhered to at the event. The Puri shankaracharya had also alleged that the event was being politicised. The shankaracharyas of Dwarka and Sringeri had not stated their reasons for skipping the ceremony.

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