‘No moral standing’: India rejects Pakistan’s remarks about Ram temple flag hoisting

India on Wednesday rejected Pakistan’s remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisting a flag at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying that Islamabad has “no moral standing” to comment on the matter.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that New Delhi rejected the remarks “with the contempt they deserve”.

Modi on Tuesday hoisted a saffron flag at the temple, marking the completion of its construction.

On the same day, Islamabad said it had noted the development with “deep concern”, adding that the structure was constructed on the site where the Babri mosque stood.

The mosque was demolished on December 6, 1992, by Hindu extremists because they believed that it stood on the spot on which the deity Ram had been born.

In 2019, the Supreme Court held that the demolition of the Babri mosque was illegal, but handed over the land to a trust for a Ram temple to be constructed. At the same time, it directed that a five-acre plot in Ayodhya be allotted to Muslims for a mosque to be constructed.

In January 2024, the temple was inaugurated in a ceremony led by Modi.

On Tuesday, Pakistan claimed that this reflected “deliberate attempts at eroding Muslim cultural and religious heritage under the influence of majoritarian Hindutva ideology”.

The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it was urging New Delhi to “uphold its responsibilities” by ensuring the security of all religious communities and “by protecting their places of worship in accordance with international human rights obligations”.

Responding to the statement, Jaiswal on Wednesday said that Pakistan, with its “deeply stained record of bigotry, repression and systemic mistreatment of its minorities”, is in no position 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 records,” he added.