The Congress party has announced its decision to abstain from the consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir scheduled for January 22, 2024. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who received invitations to the event last month, have decided not to attend.
Despite Lord Ram being revered by millions in the country, the Congress leaders have chosen not to participate, emphasizing that religion is a personal matter. They expressed concerns about the political agenda pursued by the RSS/BJP in constructing the temple in Ayodhya. Citing the 2019 Supreme Court judgment, the Congress leaders acknowledged the sentiments of those who hold Lord Ram in high regard but declined the invitation to what they perceive as an RSS/BJP-centric event.
The consecration ceremony, also known as the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Ram Lalla’s idol, for which invites have been sent to several political leaders in addition to those sent to Congress leaders, including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, former PM Manmohan Singh, former PM HD Deve Gowda, BJP veteran leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, Himachal Pradesh Minister Vikramaditya Singh, and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde.
