New Delhi: In a key political development days ahead of the January 22 Ram Temple consecration, the country's largest opposition party Congress has declined to attend the event calling it a "BJP-RSS political project".
In an official statement shared on its official X handle, Congress said party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other key leaders have officially declined Ram Temple invitation.
"Last month, the Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and the Leader of the Congress Party in the Lok Sabha Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury received an invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya to be held on January 22nd, 2024. 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," the statement said.
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Here is the statement of Shri @Jairam_Ramesh, General Secretary (Communications), Indian National Congress. pic.twitter.com/JcKIEk3afy
— Congress (@INCIndia) January 10, 2024 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Here is the statement of Shri @Jairam_Ramesh, General Secretary (Communications), Indian National Congress. pic.twitter.com/JcKIEk3afy
— Congress (@INCIndia) January 10, 2024Here is the statement of Shri @Jairam_Ramesh, General Secretary (Communications), Indian National Congress. pic.twitter.com/JcKIEk3afy
— Congress (@INCIndia) January 10, 2024
"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," it added.
Apart from Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh. Lalu Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar among the other key opposition figures have received invitations to the function.
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