Although the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya in India has already begun, Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is trying to convince everybody that Lord Ram’s birthplace is in Ayodhyapuri, area of Madi Municipality, Chitwan.

PM Oliheld talks with a delegation from Madi, including Mayor Thakur Prasad Dhakal of Madi Municipality for two hours last night. Earlier on Saturday, PM Oli had made a phone call to Ward No 9 Chair of Madi Municipality Shivahari Subedi.

PM Oli told the delegation that he was confident that Lord Ram was born in Nepal’s Ayodhyapuri and not in Ayodhya of India’s Uttar Pradesh a person who attended the meeting told.

“All the evidence that I am aware of proving that Lord Ram was born in Nepal’s Ayodhyapuri,” quoted the person PM Oli as telling the delegation.

The PM told the team to consult locals on promoting Ayodhyapuri and to preserve the historical evidence there.“We also believe that the area from Ayodhyapuri of Chitwan to Balmiki Ashram in Thori, Parsa, was Lord Ram’s birthplace,” said Subedi said.

PM also told the delegation that excavation work should be carried out in the Ayodhyapuri area to gather more evidence.

The PM said the government would provide land to develop Ayodhyapuri as a historical and religious place. He also told the delegation to build idols of Ram, Laxman and Sita in Ayodhyapuri area.

Ayodhyapuri area was later merged with wards 7,8 and 9 of the Madi Municipality.

The delegation from Chitwan told the prime minister that they would try to change the name of the Madi Municipality to Ayodhyapuri Municipality to signify the religious importance of the place. “We will consult local stakeholders and change the name of Madi Municipality to Ayodhyapuri,” Subedi said.

The PM had claimed on Bhanu Jayanti day that Thori area was the birthplace of Lord Ram and not India’s Ayodhya, stirring up religious controversy.

Input is taken from The Himalayan Times and Deshsanchar