On Wednesday, the Congress announced that Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not be attending the Ram Mandir event scheduled for January 22. This statement from the party aims to put an end to speculations regarding the Congress’s stance on the Ram Temple event, which had been a topic of conflicting opinions within the INDIA bloc partners.
The Congress expressed its view that the consecration event has taken on a clear RSS/BJP character. While acknowledging that Lord Ram is revered by millions in India, the Congress accused the RSS/BJP of turning the construction of the temple in Ayodhya into a political endeavor. They noted that the inauguration of the incomplete temple by BJP and RSS leaders seemed to be motivated by electoral considerations.
“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 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 statement read.
The statement by Jairam Ramesh, a general secretary of the party, further criticized the RSS/BJP for politicizing the Ram temple project, highlighted the temple’s incomplete status, and raised concerns about the timing of the inauguration for political gain. Nonetheless, they affirmed their adherence to the 2019 Supreme Court judgment.
The Congress declining to attend the comes weeks after the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), had criticised Congress for what it deemed a ‘non-committal’ stance on attending the Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya. The message conveyed was that Congress must explicitly declare its non-attendance, akin to CPI(M), to avoid alienating its Muslim vote bank in Kerala.
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