A video of Bihar minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tej Pratap Yadav claiming he had a dream where Lord Ram communicated with him is doing rounds on social media. In the purported video, the son of former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav apparently took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. “The importance of Lord Ram seems to fade once elections are done,” Tej Pratap said.

“Is it necessary that Lord Ram will come to Ayodhya only on January 22? He won’t come…I had a dream. Lord Ram came to my dream and told me that they (BJP) are just pretending and doing a drama. He said I won’t come to Ayodhya that day,” Yadav can be heard saying in the video.

Earlier this month, Tej Pratap had sparked a controversy after claiming that Lord Ram would only come home after the INDIA bloc wins the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “Lord Ram will come home only after the INDIA alliance’s flag is hoisted at Centre,” he told the media on January 1. This triggered the saffron party and resulted in a war of words between the BJP and opposition parties.

The Ram temple consecration ceremony will be held on January 22, while the rituals for the event will begin on January 16. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at the grand event, for which thousands of people, including celebrities, saints, and politicians have been invited.

However, several opposition leaders including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury have turned down the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony saying it is a “political project for electoral gains”.

Apart from these leaders, the top four Sanatan Hindu Dharma spiritual leaders, also known as ‘Shankaracharyas’, have also reportedly decided not to attend the consecration ceremony, though two of them have issued a statement supporting the event. Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, said the temple’s construction doesn’t signify a victory of Sanatan Dharma.