BJP's Sita Temple Claim Sparks Row: Congress Raises Questions on Bihar's Faith and Development

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah's rally in Purnea, Bihar, on Saturday has sparked a controversy over the BJP's claim of building a grand temple of Goddess Sita worth ₹850 crores in Sitamarhi. Shah, addressing the rally, announced that he and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had laid the foundation stone for the temple, which is under construction. Shah used the temple as a backdrop to attack the opposition, saying, "Can Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad Yadav build a Sita Mata temple?" He claimed that the BJP was not afraid of the opposition's vote bank and was committed to building the temple. However, the Congress hit back at the BJP, alleging that it was disrespecting Bihar's faith and Mithila's identity. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh took to X and shared a post posing three questions to the BJP. He referred to an old statement made by the Ministry of Culture that there was no historical evidence of Goddess Sita's birth in Sitamarhi. Ramesh also accused the government of not allocating funds for the preservation of Bihar's religious sites, including the PRASHAD Scheme and Swadesh Darshan, which neglected Sitamarhi. He questioned why the BJP was not interested in preserving and developing Bihar's religious sites. The Congress also questioned the cancellation of the Motihari-Sheohar-Sitamarhi rail project, despite demands from residents. It said that Sitamarhi was a religious centre and a strategic area connected to the international border. Shah had also announced that a Vande Bharat train would run from Bihar to Ayodhya on the same day the temple is built, 'to connect Sita's temple and the Ram temple'. The BJP's claims have sparked a row in Bihar, with the Congress accusing the party of disrespecting the state's faith and identity.