Kharge Sonia Adhir decline Ram temple invite accuse BJP RSS of making it 'political project' for electoral gain

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) Top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday "respectfully declined" the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, with the party accusing the BJP of making it into a "political project" for electoral gains and asserting that religion is a "personal matter".
     The BJP said that there is nothing new in the Congress' stand as the opposition party and its allies have been "insulting" Hindus and Sanatan Dharma and claimed it will face a "boycott" from the people of India for its decision.
     Amid the buzz over the Ram temple consecration, for which the BJP and Hindu outfits like the VHP have been making grand preparations while encouraging the participation of the masses in the celebrations, several opposition parties have accused the ruling party of "politicising" the issue ahead of general elections.
     Announcing the decision of Congress leaders in a statement, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh also questioned the motive behind the inauguration of the "incomplete" temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS.
     "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," he said.
     "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," the Congress general secretary in-charge communications said.
     Top leaders of the VHP and the Ram temple trust had personally met Congress chief and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Gandhi and Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Chowdhury last month to hand over the invite to the temple consecration ceremony to be held on January 22, 2024.
     With Lok Sabha elections due in less than three months and the BJP making it clear that it would cash in on the Ram temple plank while projecting Congress as "anti-Hindu", the decision of the top Congress leaders could be crucial.
     Former Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhwadia said the Congress should have stayed away from taking such political decisions.
     "Lord Shri Ram is a revered deity. This is a matter of faith and belief of the countrymen. INCIndia should have stayed away from taking such political decisions," he posted on X.
     On Monday, Himachal Pradesh minister and Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh said he would attend the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
     Singh, who is the son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and state party chief Pratibha Singh, had also thanked the RSS and the Vishva Hindu Parishad for the invitation.
     Around 100 Congress office-bearers from Uttar Pradesh, including party's state unit chief Ajay Rai and state in-charge Avinash Pande, will visit Ayodhya on January 15 on Makar Sankranti where they will take a dip in the Saryu river, and then visit the Ram temple and Hanumangarhi temple, Rai had said on Sunday.
     Reacting to the decision of Congress leaders announced on Wednesday, Union minister Smriti Irani said, "I must say that Sonia Gandhi has shown that she has no faith in Lord Ram."
     "Could we expect anything different from her?" the Union Minister for Minority Affairs said in Patna.
     INDIA alliance leaders, under the leadership of Congress, have always opposed Sanatan and their denying invitation is in line with their "hate" for Sanatan, she alleged.
     "There is nothing new. It had to happen. The Congress through its allies spoke about destroying Sanatan Dharma, it spoke about Hindu terrorism. It has insulted Hindus many times...
     "If they have decided to boycott the Ram Mandir Pran Pratistha ceremony, the people of India too will boycott them in the coming times,” Union Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters.
     "The Congress is officially saying that its senior leaders will not be there in Ayodhya on January 22. It should come as no surprise because over the last few decades, it really took no steps to see that there should be a temple in Ayodhya," BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.
     The BJP leader said that the former Congress-led UPA government had in fact filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court to deny the existence of Lord Ram.
     "They are saying they won't be there is part of what they have always believed. They didn't want a temple there," he added.
     BJP MP Manoj Tiwari also derided the Congress leaders for declining the invitation, saying that "they have lost their mind. I realise that Ravana had also lost his mind in Treta Yug."
     West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Tuesday alleged that the BJP was indulging in a "gimmick show" through the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
     The TMC supremo asserted that "she does not support festivities that exclude other communities" and does not believe in dividing masses on religious lines.
     "Yesterday I was asked to comment on Ram Mandir in Ayodhya as if I have nothing else to do. I said that religion belongs to individuals but festivals are for all," she said.
     CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had also declined an invitation, with the Left party saying religion is a personal choice and should not be converted into an instrument of political gain.
     Asked about the Ram Temple issue, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, "Religion cannot be a part of politics".
     "The BJP will have to answer these questions whether the farmers' income doubled or not, whether the youth got employment or not. Since the BJP does not have answers to these questions, it hides behind religion."
     When asked about attending the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple, he said, "Our stand is that when god calls (someone), even the BJP will not be able to stop him... How can the BJP decide whom to invite and whom not? This does not mean a call from Lord Shri Ram, it is a call from the BJP."
     Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony. The temple trust has also invited 4,000 seers from across the country and 50 guests from foreign countries.
     The BJP and the RSS and affiliate Hindutva organisations like the Vishva Hindu Parishad have launched a nationwide mass connect programme in the run-up to the ceremony, urging people to visit the holy place after the programme.
     The BJP has also asked all its state units to start a campaign from January 14 to ensure the cleanliness of temples and the surroundings and exhort people to join the January 22 event by offering prayers at temples in their respective neighbourhoods.
     It asked its state units to "help" people who want to visit the Ram temple after the consecration ceremony.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)