New Delhi : Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is likely to attend the Ayodhya temple inauguration on Jan 22, 2024 in a strategic move to counter the BJP ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections. “Sonia Gandhi is likely to attend the temple inauguration ceremony,” a senior AICC functionary said. It is yet to be officially confirmed.
The former Congress chief and incumbent Mallikarjun Kharge had received an invitation from the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust which is organizing a big event to mark the opening of the Lord Ram temple that had been a pet project of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre.
Recently, AICC general secretary in charge of organization KC Venugopal had said that the party would decide on who will represent the party at the inauguration.
According to Congress insiders, there is wide consensus among the central and Uttar Pradesh leaders that Sonia Gandhi would be the most suitable person to represent the grand old party at the religious event which has attracted national attention.
“We should not be seen committing the same mistake made by the Left parties who have decided not to attend the temple opening function due to their political ideology. In a perception based political system, the grand old party cannot ignore the event which the BJP is trying to hijack as its own. In reality, the temple construction is happening as per the Supreme Court order which decided the case after years,” said a senior AICC functionary.
According to party insiders, there were many reasons which make Sonia Gandhi the most suited party representative to attend the Jan 22 event in Ayodhya. “She is the only party MP in UP representing Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha. She is former party chief and chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party and is regarded among the battery of veteran opposition leaders. Plus, she represents the legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family,” said a senior AICC functionary.
Besides political reasons, there is a personal connection as well, said party old timers. “In 2001, as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had taken a great political risk by taking a dip at the holy Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati in the then Allahabad during the Mahakumbh. The move aimed to regain the lost traditional vote banks of the grand old party,” said a senior Congress functionary.
Recently during the assembly polls, the comments of former Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s role behind opening the locks of the temporary Lord Ram temple at the site of disputed Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1986 to allow Hindus to pray could not be ignored, had created a flutter in the political circles.
The temple inauguration comes months ahead of the 2024 national elections which former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi described as an ideological battle between the grand old party and the BJP on Dec 28 while addressing a rally in Nagpur to mark the party’s foundation day.
The former Congress chief is also expected to spend around 15 days in UP as part of his nationwide yatra part 2 to revive the grand old party in the state that sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.
In the past few days, speculation is rife in the national political circles that the Congress former chief will attend the Ram Lalla consecration or she will send a delegation of her party to the prestigious event. All eyes are on the decision of the leading opposition party in the country with regard to its presence at the Ayodhya temple event, which comes just two to three months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
A few days ago, high level representatives of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Khsetra Trust have personally handed over invitation letters to both Sonia Gandhi and Congress present national president Mallikharjun Kharge for the Ram Mandir event. Earlier, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that their party will take a decision on Sonia Gandhi and Mallikharjun Kharge attending the Ram temple event at an appropriate time. Jairam Ramesh has said that Gandhi and Kharge have been invited to the Ram Mandir ceremony.
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