"Will he hoist flag on mosque, Gurudwara or church?": Rashid Alvi slams PM Modi for hoisting Dharma Dhwaja at Ram temple

Nov 25, 2025

New Delhi [India], November 25 : Former Congress MP Rashid Alvi on Tuesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hoisting a saffron flag at the Ram Janmanbhoomi Temple in Ayodhya, asking him if he would do so on a "mosque, Gurudwara or a church."
Speaking to ANI, Alvi alleged PM Modi of using the Ram Temple issue for "political benefit" ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections in 2027, and asked him to learn about secularism from India's first PM, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
"This country has no religion as per the Constitution, then why does the PM want to hoist this flag? Will he hoist a flag on a mosque, Gurudwara or a church? He wants to hoist the flag on the Ram Mandir for political benefit, so that he can benefit in the UP elections, instigating religious sentiments in the country... He should learn secularism from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru," the Congress leader said.
This comes after PM Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat ceremonially hoisted the saffron flag atop the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple's 191-foot-high shikhar in Ayodhya today, symbolising the completion of the temple's construction.
Addressing the gathering at the flag-hoisting ceremony, the Prime Minister said that India and the world are "Ram-may", as he described the installation of the Dharma Dhwaja atop the Ram Temple as a moment that heals "wounds of centuries" and marks the fulfilment of a civilisational resolve kept alive for 500 years.
PM Modi said, "Today, the entire India and the world is Ram-may. There is extraordinary satisfaction in the heart of every Ram devotee. There is boundless gratitude. There is unfathomable supernatural bliss. The wounds of centuries are being healed. The pain of centuries is being put to rest today. The resolve of centuries is being fulfilled today. Today is the completion of that sacrifice whose fire remained lit for 500 years."
He added that the Dharma Dhwaja, established at the shikhar of the Grand Ram Temple, carries profound symbolic significance.
"Today, the energy of Lord Ram is established at the shikhar of the Grand Ram Temple in the form of this Dharma Dhwaja," the Prime Minister said.