Row over Veerappa Moily’s ‘did PM fast for 11 days’ remark; ‘If you have faith in Ram’
A fresh controversy began after Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Veerappa Moily expressed doubt on PM Modi’s 11-day fast preceding the pran pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple.
On Tuesday, the veteran Congress leader said he spoke to a doctor who said it is not possible to sustain only on coconut water for 11 days. “If he (PM Modi) is alive, then is it a miracle? Hence I doubt if he fasted,” the Congress leader said. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh Siroya condemned the statement and said not everyone is ‘fake like him (Veerappa Moily)’.
Ahead of the grand event in Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, PM Modi observed 11-day rituals during which he adhered to the satvic lifestyle. According to reports, PM Modi did gau-puja, fed cows, and gave away clothes adhering to scriptures. His diet was frugal — coconut water and fruits. PM Modi also undertook a spiritual tour as he visited all South Indian temples with the Ramayana link including Ramkund and Shree Kalaram Temple in Nasik, Veerbhadra Temple in Lepakshi in Andhra Pradesh and Guruvayur Temple and Thriprayar Shree Ramaswami Temple in Kerala. A day before the consecration, PM Modi went to Arichalmunai, believed to be the location where Ram Setu was built.
On January 22 — after the pran pratishtha — PM Modi broke his fast as he had the charanamrit from Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, the treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Khestra.
As Veerappa Moily doubted PM Modi’s fast, he said the sanctum sanctorum might have become impure if PM Modi had not fasted. “If he (Modi) had done Pooja in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple without observing fast then that place will become impure and will not generate (supernatural) power. He (Modi) says he has observed fast for 11 days and survived only on tender coconut. There were no signs of fatigue on his face. People, and not me are questioning whether he observed fast or not,” Moily said.
“During a morning walk today, a doctor, who was accompanying me said it is not possible for anyone to survive for 11 days without food. If someone has survived then it is a miracle. Hence, it is doubtful that he (Modi) observed fast,” the former Union minister said.
Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh Siroya said one can fast and survive if they have faith in Lord Ram instead of the Gandhi family. “Veerappa Moily, who goes around wearing the mask of a great writer, thinks everybody is a fake like him…You can fast and survive if you have faith in Lord Ram, not if you are pleasing the Gandhi family. Despite this effort to please the family, Moily will not get a Congress ticket to contest from Chikkaballapur,” Lahar Singh wrote on X.