CONGRESS TO SKIP CONSECRATION CEREMONY, TERMS IT BJP-RSS EVENT

Inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain, alleges the grand old party.

- TIKAM SHARMA

The grand old party put an end to speculations about whether it would attend consecration ceremony or not by announcing that “the party will skip ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration ceremony) of Lord Ram at the newly built Ram Temple in Ayodhya.”

Calling the consecration a “RSS/BJP” event, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have “respectfully” declined the invitation.

In a statement, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh stated, “Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in the country, and the 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 judgement 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.”