Congress declines Ram Temple invitation, says BJP made it political project

Congress on Tuesday declined to participate in the upcoming Ram temple consecration ceremony that is scheduled to take place on January 22 in Ayodhya.

Among the leaders who have decided to skip the event include, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary. These leaders were given personal invitations by the temple committee to attend the inauguration of the Ayodhya temple.

In a press release, the party said that the BJP and RSS have made the Ayodhya temple a political project. Congress further said that the inauguration of the incomplete temple in Ayodhya is being brought forward for electoral gain.

"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," read a statement from senior party leader Jairam Ramesh.

"While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event," he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took no time to slam the Congress party over its decision.

Speaking to PTI news agency, BJP leader Nalin Kohli said, "Congress took no steps over the last few decades for a temple at Ayodhya. They denied the existence of Lord Ram and delayed the hearing in the Supreme Court. So, the Congress party officially stating that it is not going to attend Ram Mandir Pran Pratistha should come as no surprise.”

The Congress' decision to skip the event might have massive political ramifications for the party in the upcoming general elections, where the Bharatiya Janata party is expected to make it one of the highlights of its government's achievements.

The invitation was extended to several opposition parties of the INDIA bloc, except the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena party.

While the CPI(M) party has refused to attend the ceremony, other prominent members of the bloc like Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee, and Akhilesh Yadav are yet to comment on the matter.