A day after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli stoked a controversy by claiming that Lord Ram was not an Indian, Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday issued a clarification over his comments.
"The remarks not linked to any political subject and have no intention to hurt anyone's feelings, they are not meant to debase the significance of Ayodhya and the cultural value it bears," said the ministry in a statement.
Oli on Monday had said that Ram's birthplace of Ayodhya is not located in Uttar Pradesh but near the Balmiki Ashram in Thori in southern Nepal. Nepal shares a border with India's most populous state.
Speaking at an event on the birth anniversary of Nepalese poet Bhanubhakta at the Prime Minister's residence in Kathmandu, Oli had said that Nepal "has become a victim of cultural encroachment and its history has been manipulated".
"Although the real Ayodhya lies at Thori in the west of Birgunj, India has claimed the Indian site as the birthplace of Lord Ram," Oli had said.
"We also believe that deity Sita got married to Prince Ram of India. Actually, Ayodhya is a village lying west of Birgunj," he had said, adding that the marriage between the bride and the bridegroom at such a distance was not possible at the time when there was no communication and transportation system.
Moving to soothe ruffled feathers, the foreign ministry statement on Tuesday said: "As there have been several myths and references about Shri Ram and places associated with him, the PM was highlighting importance of further studies and research of vast cultural geography Ramayana represents to obtain facts."
Nepalese politician slams remarks
Several top Nepalese political leaders from different parties slammed Oli for making "senseless and irrelevant" remarks, and asked him to withdraw his controversial statement on Ayodhya.
"PM Oli's statements have crossed the limit. Extremism only creates trouble," former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai tweeted.
In his sarcastic remark, Bhattarai said, "Now let's hope to hear the new Ramayan of Kaliyug from PM Oli."
"Such silly, unconfirmed and unproven remarks by the Prime Minister was not desirable. PM Oli's attention seems to have been drawn towards damaging Nepal's relations with India instead of improving them, which is not appropriate," said Kamal Thapa, former foreign minister and president of the pro-Hindu Rastriya Prajatantra Party.
Senior leader of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (NCP) Bam Dev Gautam said Oli should withdraw his controversial remarks on Ayodhya. "The statement made by Prime Minister Oli was without any evidence and it has only created controversy within and outside the country, so he must withdraw the statement and apologize for that," Gautam wrote on his Facebook page.
"There are large numbers of devotees of Lord Ram both in Nepal and India, and no one should hurt people's religious faith," Gautam said. "For a realistic communist it makes no difference whether Lord Ram was born here or there."
"Such senseless and irrelevant remarks made by a person of high position will damage the country's prestige," said Bishnu Rijal, deputy chief of the Publicity Committee of the ruling party.
"It was folly for PM Oli to wade in and raise controversy on the placement of Ayodhya, home of the mythological Lord Ram," tweeted senior journalist of Nepal Kanak Dixit. "This creates a schism with a section of India's population when earlier it was only with the Indian Government."
(With inputs from PTI)
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