Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh attends Pran Pratishtha, even as party denies invite

Congress leader and Himachal Pradesh Minister Vikramaditya Singh attended the Pran Patishtha ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, even as his party declined the invite.

Earlier Himachal Pradesh became the only Congress-ruled state to declare a half-day for all state government workers.

Senior national leaders of the grand old party had turned down the invitation to the consecration ceremony calling it a political event hosted by the BJP and RSS.

Among the leaders who decided to skip the are, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary.

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 was 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.

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