India slams Pakistan over remarks on PM Modi’s saffron flag hoisting at Ram Temple

India on Wednesday (November 26) slammed Pakistan over its remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising the saffron flag at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, saying that it rejects them with the contempt that they deserve. Earlier, Pakistan had alleged that hoisting the flag was an attempt to put pressure on the Indian minority communities and to erase Muslim heritage in the country. The remarks made an apparent reference Ram Temple being built on the site of the demolished Babri Masjid.

Pak’s ‘deeply stained record of bigotry’

Speaking to reporters, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Pakistan, being a country “deeply stained record of bigotry”, has no moral standing to lecture others.

Also Read: PM Modi hoists saffron flag at Ayodhya Ram Temple, says 'pain of centuries put to rest'

"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,” said Jaiswal.

“Rather than delivering hypocritical homilies, Pakistan would do better to turn its gaze inwards and focus on its own abysmal human rights record...,” he added as quoted by ANI.

Supreme Court verdict

The Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992, by a right-wing mob. In 2019, the Supreme Court resolved the long legal dispute over the site, ruling in favour of the Hindu claimants.

The following year, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the Ram Temple, and four years later, he presided over its consecration in a large public ceremony.

The backdrop

PM Modi on Tuesday hoisted a 22-foot saffron flag and led associated rituals. These rituals were conducted by 108 priests from different parts of the country under the direction of scholar Ganeshwar Shastri, reported NDTV.

Also Read: What is Dhwajarohan ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodhya?

While addressing those present, he said a “500-year-old resolve” had been realised. He added that Ayodhya was witnessing “another epochal event in its history” and claimed that both the country and the world were “immersed in Ram.”

The newly hoisted saffron flag is right-angled and triangular, featuring the symbol of the Sun. This emblem represents eternal energy, divine radiance, virtue, enlightenment, and other attributes traditionally associated with Ram.