Cong declines Ram Temple invite, saying it’s a “political project”
Today, the Congress announced its decision to abstain from the grand inauguration ceremony of the Ram Temple (Ram Mandir) in Ayodhya on January 22, asserting that it is a “political project” orchestrated by the BJP and its ideological guide, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
The party conveyed, through General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, that its leaders who were invited, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former leader Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, have chosen not to attend.
“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,” said the official statement, as read out by Ramesh.
Several other Opposition parties too, including the Left and Trinamool Congress, have made it clear that they would skip the inauguration.
The BJP hit out at Congress’s decision by saying that it shows the party is anti-Ram and anti-Hindu.
“The Congress’s character can never change. It is the same Congress that described Lord Ram as an imaginary figure, that talked about rebuilding the Babri Mosque … that uses its allies to put down Sanatan Dharma (referring to DMK leader A Raja’s statement last September that kicked up a storm),” Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said.
“Today when the Congress has decided to boycott the Pran Pratistha ceremony, it can be clearly seen that the people of India will also boycott them (referring to the upcoming general election),” he added.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari told the news agency PTI that that “Ram Rajya of Treta Yug” was back in India today under PM Modi’s rule and charged the Congress with losing its mind “as Ravana did in Treta Yug”.
