National Desk, 10th January: The Congress party declared on Wednesday that it would not participate in the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, describing it as an event orchestrated by the BJP-RSS.
In a statement, the grand old party asserted that while religion is a personal matter, the BJP and RSS have turned the Ayodhya temple into a political project.
The Congress accused the BJP and RSS of advancing the incomplete temple’s inauguration for electoral gains. The statement highlighted that, in accordance with the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and respecting the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation, emphasizing that it is clearly an RSS/BJP event.
Several Congress leaders criticized the BJP for politicizing the religious event to claim credit for the Ram Temple’s inauguration. With the BJP making significant efforts to make the event memorable, opposition parties find themselves in a Catch-22 situation as they navigate the decision to participate or abstain from the ceremony, considering the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The fear of being labeled anti-Sanatan if they don’t attend or playing into the BJP’s hands if they do attend creates a challenging dilemma for the opposition.