BJP, Cong in Epic Battle Over Sita Mata Temple in Lanka

At a time when the nation is debating Ram Mandir, BJP and Congress in Madhya Pradesh have locked horns over the construction of ‘Sita Mata temple’ in Sri Lanka — a promise of former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan that never went beyond the planning stage.

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BJP, Cong in Epic Battle Over Sita Mata Temple in Lanka

Divurumpola — or ‘Place of Oath in Sinhala language — is said to be the place where Goddess Sita underwent ‘Agni Pariksha’.

Bhopal: At a time when the nation is debating Ram Mandir, BJP and Congress in Madhya Pradesh have locked horns over construction of ‘Sita Mata temple’ in Sri Lanka — a promise of former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan that never went beyond the planning stage.

Minister for religious trusts and endowments, P C Sharma, on Monday alleged that the Chouhan government hadn’t done anything about the proposed Sita Mata temple and that the Congress government would bring it fruition. He claimed that Chouhan had announced the temple project to “win praise but failed to fulfil his promises”.

Chouhan took exception to the decision to survey and re-assess the site for the temple in Lanka, and tweeted: “Officers of CM Kamal Nath will visit Sri Lanka to verify whether Sita Mata was abducted or not. Noting could be more ridiculous than this.” He accused the Congress of “hurting the sentiments of crores of Hindus by announcing to probe things that are an open truth”.

It was in 2010 that Chouhan, who was then CM, visited Sri Lanka and spoke of building a Sita Mata temple there. However, nothing much happened beyond ‘financial assistance’ of Rs 1 crore for the project six years later. Chouhan said the necessary permissions had been obtained, reported ToI. In 2016, the BJP government had also sent a team to visit the site — within a Buddhist monastery in Divurumpola. But the project never got off the ground.

Divurumpola — or ‘Place of Oath in Sinhala language — is said to be the place where Goddess Sita underwent ‘Agni Pariksha’. There is an Ashoka tree on a raised platform where her jewellery is said to be buried, and a small shrine. It’s one of the most revered places for Hindus in Lanka and is located within a Buddhist monastery.