'Lord Ram is Nepali, not Indian': Nepal PM Oli's comments stir up controversy
New Delhi : Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli kicked up another controversy when he claimed that “Lord Ram is Nepali, not Indian and the real Ayodhya lies in his country and not in India.”
"Lord Ram is Nepali, not Indian," said PM Oli.
According to the Nepali news agency, PM Oli said that Ram's birthplace of Ayodhya is not located in Uttar Pradesh but near the Balmiki Ashram in Nepal.
It is worth mentioning that Nepal shares a border with India's most populous state.
"Till now we have remained under the belief that Sita’s husband, Ram was an Indian... he was not, he was a Nepali," PM Oli reportedly said.
He further said, “ India has set up fake Ayodhya and tried taking
away our culture. We have been oppressed a bit, culturally. Facts have been encroached.”
Prime Minister Oli's controversial remarks come amid a row between the two countries over a revised political map that sees Nepal claim Indian territory - the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and the Limpiyadhura and Kalapani areas.
Last month the Nepal parliament voted, unanimously, to pass a constitutional amendment to update the country's map to claim these lands. Days later the National Assembly passed the bill, also unanimously.
