‘No moral standing’: India rubbishes Pakistan’s objection to Dhwajarohan at Ayodhya Ram Temple

India has dismissed Pakistan’s comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisting the flag at the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya and said a country with a deeply stained record of bigotry, repression, and systemic mistreatment of its minorities has no moral standing to lecture others. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Pakistan has a long history of the persecution of minorities on its soil and violation of democratic values, and hence it should not be talking about minority rights, and it would be better if it focuses on its own abysmal human rights record. In a press conference on Wednesday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “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. Rather than delivering hypocritical homilies, Pakistan would do better to turn its gaze inwards and focus on its own abysmal human rights record.”

The sacred ceremony of Dhwajarohan (flag hoisting) held on Nov. 25 (Tuesday) marked the completion of the construction of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister Modi hoisted the saffron flag and in his address emphasised that the occasion marked the realisation of a 500-year-old civilisational commitment.

The ceremony held importance for Hindus who witnessed the completion of a grand temple at the Ramjanmabhoomi, the place where Lord Ram took birth, after a long battle in the courts and was a moment of emotional and spiritual significance. Reacting to the ceremony, Pakistan accused India of “discrimination towards minorities” and “eradicating Muslim culture and heritage”.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to relevant international bodies, including the United Nations, to play a constructive role in safeguarding Islamic heritage.

India’s ruling party, the BJP, mocked Islamabad’s remarks and said it was similar to Osama Bin Laden talking about world peace.

“Pakistan should be the last entity that should lecture anybody on human rights or minorities. Look at their own track record, and they are doing it on the day of 26/11. The day when they carried out the most dastardly terror attack and claimed many innocent lives. They are the ones who ensured that Hindus, Sikhs, Balochs and Ahmadiyyas in Pakistan are persecuted," said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.