Congress leader criticises party's decision to skip Ram temple ceremony

The Congress on Wednesday said that its leaders would not be attending the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya

Ram mandir updates: Congress leader and former president of Gujarat Congress Arjun Modhwadia on Wednesday criticised the decision of senior leaders of his party, including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, to skip the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

In a social media post, Modhwadia wrote, "Lord Shri Ram is worshipped by many… This is a matter of faith and belief of the countrymen. @INCIndia should have stayed away from taking such political decisions."

भगवान श्री राम आराध्य देव हैं।

यह देशवासियों की आस्था और विश्वास का विषय है। @INCIndia को ऐसे राजनीतिक निर्णय लेने से दूर रहना चाहिए था। pic.twitter.com/yzDTFe9wDc

— Arjun Modhwadia (@arjunmodhwadia) January 10, 2024

Earlier on Wednesday, the Congress said that its leaders would not be attending the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

 

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

The BJP criticised the Congress over its decision. BJP leader and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "Lord Ram is the identity of our country. Rejecting 'Pran Pratishtha' invitation is like rejecting the identity of the country."

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Hardeep Singh Puri said, "They are stuck in their rhetoric...Why take them seriously? They will regret it if they don't go…"

However, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi backed the Congress's stand on not attending the invitation to the 'Pran Pratishtha' event. 

"It is a matter of our devotion and I won't do any politics over this. But there is one question, there are four Shankaracharyas in the country and they too have said that they won't participate in the ceremony. Are they too wrong?" she said.

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also voiced support for the senior party leaders abstaining from the programme.

"AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge, senior leader of our party Sonia Gandhi, and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Chowdhury, who are not participating in the inauguration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, are correct in their decision, which I support," the Congress leader said.

Siddaramaiah accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sangh Parivar leaders of "disrespecting Lord Ram" and the nation's 1.4 billion people by politicising a religious event.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of the Sangh Parivar have disrespected Shri Ram and the 1.4 billion people of the country by making a religious event that should be conducted with devotion and respect for all, regardless of caste, religion, or party sect, into a party event," Siddaramaiah said.

"It is a betrayal to all the Hindus that a religious programme that should have been conducted with devotion has been turned into a political propaganda campaign," he added.