BJP MP Savitribai Phule says Buddha’s statue should be installed in Ayodhya

Amid growing demands for a Ram temple, Savitribai Phule, the BJP MP from Bahraich, has called for installing a statue of Lord Buddha at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

"Excavations carried out at the disputed site in Ayodhya on the directions of the high court had found certain things associated with Lord Buddha," Phule claimed.

"Therefore, a statue of Lord Buddha should be installed at the same place," she told newspersons on Friday night.

"I want to make it clear that Bharat belonged to Buddha, and Ayodhya is the place of Buddha. Therefore, a statue of Buddha should be installed there," she said.

To a question on reports about BJP Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha bringing a private member's bill for Ram temple construction, she said, "India is a secular country according to its Constitution which has given equal guarantee of security to all religions ... The nation should be run as per the Constitution." Phule's statement comes at a time when right-wing organisations have renewed the demand for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.