Guwahati,11 January: Top three leaders of congress, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the invitees of Rama Mandir inauguration ceremony, have respectfully declined the invitation. They alleged that the event was a ‘political project’ by the BJP and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that had been preponed for “electoral gain”.
Congress leader, Jai Ramesh emphasized that while Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in the country and religion is a personal matter, the BJP and RSS have consistently turned the Ayodhya temple into their political propaganda tool. He alleged that the timing of the incomplete temple’s inauguration has been strategically advanced for electoral gains for the upcoming election. The Congress leaders, while acknowledging the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram and abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment, decided to decline the invitation to what they perceive as an event orchestrated by the RSS and BJP. Some party leaders from southern states forced a rethink, prompting the Congress to ‘respectfully decline’ the invite. Congress leaders such as KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Ramesh Chennithala and others argued that the Congress’s presence at the Ram Mandir event would give a boost to the Narendra Modi-led BJP, which is pitching temple inauguration as a potent poll plank for 2024 Lok Sabha elections.