DHAKA: Protests erupted in Bangladesh against Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's recent comments on Ayodhya and Lord Ram.
Activists of Hindu Dharam Suraksha Parishad and Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance made a human chain outside Jatiya Press Club to protest against Oli's remarks that Lord Ram belongs to Nepal and not India.
Protesters said that "invisible forces" were instigating Nepal to issue misleading statements on Lord Ram. The Nepali Prime Minister created a controversy on July 13 stating that real Ayodhya lies in Nepal, not in India and that Lord Ram was born in Thori in southern Nepal.
On July 17, Jagrato Hindu Samaj activists also carried out a human chain at Dhaka Press Club to protest against the remarks of the Nepali Prime Minister.
Subsequently, the Nepali Foreign Office went into a damage control mode. It stated" "As there have been several myths and references about Lord Ram and the places associated with him, the prime minister was simply highlighting the importance of further studies and research of the vast cultural geography the Ramayana represents to obtain facts about Shri Ram, Ramayana and the various places linked to this rich civilization".
"The remarks were not meant to debase the significance of Ayodhya and the cultural value it bears", it added.
Prime Minister Oli, under growing pressure to resign amidst a rift in the ruling Nepal Communist Party over his style of functioning, has alleged that some of the ruling party leaders are aligning with the southern neighbour to remove him from power after his government issued a new political map incorporating three Indian territories of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura.
His allegations have been criticised by senior NCP leaders, including former Prime Minister 'Prachanda', who demanded Prime Minister Oli's resignation, saying his recent anti-India remarks were "neither politically correct nor diplomatically appropriate."
Nepal's anti-India and pro-China stand seems to have backfired severely as along with mounting pressure on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign, people have now taken to the streets against Chinese ambassador Hou Yanqi even as the Chinese mission in Kathmandu intensified engagements with the ruling Nepal Communist Party to save Oli's post.