The Congress on Tuesday accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajyavardhan Rathore of wearing shoes while performing a puja of Lord Ram.

Sharing a visual of Rathore performing the puja, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that a new tradition of worshipping God while wearing shoes has been started.

“A new tradition of worshipping while wearing shoes in Hinduism has been started by the self-proclaimed custodians of the religion,” Shrinate wrote on X, previously known as Twitter.

Rathore has not so far responded to the allegations.

An idol of the new Ram Lalla was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday, a landmark event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who also gave a clarion call to go beyond the grand mandir’s construction and to build the foundation of a “strong, capable and divine” India for the next 1,000 years.

Lakhs of people watched the ‘pran pratishtha (consecration)’ ceremony on television in their homes and neighbourhood temples, savouring the historic moment. The consecration ceremony at the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya was celebrated with religious fervour across the country.

The Ram Temple in Ayodhya

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday presided over the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony of the idol of Ram Lalla inside the sanctorum of the newly constructed Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The Ram temple delivers on a key 35-year-old promise by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Constructed in the traditional Nagara style, the Ram Temple has a length (east-west) of 380 feet, a width of 250 feet, and a height of 161 feet. Supported by a total of 392 pillars and 44 doors, the temple is three-storied, with each floor being 20 feet tall.

The pillars and walls showcase intricately sculpted depictions of Hindu deities, gods and goddesses. There are a total of five mandaps (halls) in the temple — Nritya Mandap, Rang Mandap, Sabha Mandap, Prathana Mandap and Kirtan Mandap.

At the four corners of the compound, there are four Mandirs – dedicated to Surya Dev, Devi Bhagwati, Ganesh Bhagwan and Bhagwan Shiv. In the northern arm is a Mandir of Maa Annapurna and in the southern arm is a Mandir of Hanuman ji.