For the second time in less than a month, Nepalese Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli has attempted to push that Lord Ram was not born in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, but in Nepal, reports Hindustan Times.

PM Oli told a delegation this week that he was convinced that Lord Ram was born in South Nepal's Ayodhyapuri, and not in Ayodhya which is situated in India. The assertion was made in a meeting called to discuss PM Oli's plans for the so-called birthplace of Lord Ram in Nepal.

The delegation with which PM Oli had held the meeting was led by Mayor of Madi in Chitwan district of Nepal, Thakur Prasad Dhakal. PM Oli had told the delegation that they should get down to preparing for Lord Ram's idol and to promote Ayodhyapuri as his birthplace. During the same meeting, a proposal to rename the municipality to Ayodhyapuri was also floated.

It should be noted that the last time PM Oli had made the claim, his own party leaders had called the assertion "ludicrous". Meanwhile, the Nepalese Foreign Ministry had rushed to clarify that PM Oli had only meant to highlight the importance of further studies and research of the cultural geography represented by Ramayana.

Several experts have signalled that Oli’s sudden interest in religion lately appears to be a message to China and its ambassador Hou Yanqi that he was their best bet against India and hence receive Beijing’s support.

“PM Oli is trying hard to tell China that he is indispensable to serving Beijing’s interests in Kathmandu,” a Kathmandu watcher in New Delhi was quoted as saying in the report.