"Whenever Babur is in the world, Ram, Lakshman, and Hanuman will always be there too": Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, during his visit to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, described his experience of visiting the temple as divine and said that the BJP and opposition parties should be equally free to invoke religious and historical figures during election campaigns.

Speaking after offering prayers in Ayodhya, Sarma said the visit filled him with devotion and expressed his desire to return to the religious site.

“It is a very divine experience. After the darshan, the mind becomes filled with devotion. We feel like coming here again and again,” Sarma said.

Taking a swipe at opposition parties over their objections to the BJP invoking Lord Ram during election campaigns, the Assam Chief Minister said that if the BJP could be criticised for using Lord Ram's name, opposition parties should also be prepared to invoke Babur.

“Whenever Babur is in the world, Ram, Lakshman, and Hanuman will always be there too. You cannot deny this. If we contest elections in the name of Lord Ram, then you (opposition parties) also contest elections in the name of Babur. If you have a problem with us taking the name of our Lord Ram, then you should also stop taking Babur's name,” he said.