Uddhav Thackeray should refrain from promoting religious activity: Majeed Memon

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is among the invitees for the Ram temple bhoomi pujan ceremony in Ayodhya, former NCP MP Majeed Memon said on Tuesday, but opined that head of a secular democracy should refrain from promoting a "particular religious activity.

The 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony is scheduled to be held at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend it on August 5.

Uddhav Thackeray is among invitees for bhoomi pujan of Ram Temple. He may participate respecting Covid-19 restrictions in hispersonal capacity. The head of a secular democracy should refrain from promoting a particular religious activity," Memon, who is also a lawyer, tweeted.

The Shiv Sena, which has been pitching for construction of the temple for three decades, formed a government in Maharashtra with the ideologically-different NCP and Congress last year.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday claimed his party paved the way to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and removed roadblocks in the temple construction for the cause of Hindutva and not for politics.

It needs to be seen how many people will be invited for the temple's ground-breaking ceremony next month and what social distancing measures will be taken at the event (in view of the COVID-19 outbreak), Raut said.

"What 'political social distancing' they will observe remains to be seen," he said.