New Delhi: Ending days of speculation, Congress said on Wednesday that its leaders will skip the upcoming Ram Temple consecration event.
According to a party communique, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former chief Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have “respectfully” declined the invitation to attend the much-hyped inauguration in Ayodhya on January 22 as it’s an “RSS/BJP event.”
In a statement shared on its official X handle, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that Kharge, Sonia and Adhir Ranjan had received an invite to attend the January 22 ceremony in Ayodhya.
However, the grand old party alleged that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have turned the temple in Ayodhya into a political project.
“Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain. While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event,” the statement said.
Other Opposition parties like the Left and Trinamool Congress have already made it clear they won’t be part of the January 22 ceremony.
Around 6,000 people will attend the ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony in Ayodhya, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and a galaxy of celebrities and industrialists.
