New Delhi: The Congress is getting aggressive in countering the BJP over the Ayodhya temple issue ahead of the 2024 national elections.
The party’s Punjab unit plans to take people by train or bus to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on Jan 22, 2024, the day the temple of Lord Ram will be inaugurated by PM Modi. Already, big celebrations are being planned by the temple trust for the inauguration day in which PM Modi and senior BJP leaders are expected to attend.
“Yes, we are planning to take people to Ayodhya on Jan 22, 2024. We want to be part of that important event to show the country that India is integrated. The BJP is not inviting us so we are making our own arrangements,” AICC secretary in charge of Punjab Chetan Chouhan told ETV Bharat.
“Lord Ram belongs to all. It does not belong to the BJP or to PM Modi. The Lord’s name is mentioned several times in the Guru Granth Sahib. Whether a person is a Sikh or not, he regards Lord Ram. The Lord cannot belong only to a party or person. It does not matter who inaugurates the temple. Many people wish to be there in Ayodhya on the temple inauguration day. The BJP may say that only the BJP people are allowed to go and not the Congress persons. So, if the PM makes trains available to take people to reach Ayodhya it is okay, otherwise, we will arrange buses for them to reach the holy town,” Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring told ETV Bharat.
According to both Chouhan and Warring, there is no politics involved in the Congress plan to take people to Ayodhya.
“There is no politics involved here. Lord Ram belongs to everyone and all have a right to be there on the temple inauguration day. The BJP too should not play politics over the temple but sadly they are doing that. Though the temple is being built by a trust, the list of guests is being approved by the PMO. The BJP is already playing politics over the issue and will do more ahead of the 2024 national elections,” said Chouhan.
The AICC functionary said the Congress move would send a positive message among the people but clarified that the grand old party’s stress on caste census is not to counter the BJP’s Hindutva politics.
“Our leader Rahul Gandhi has been saying that the caste census is needed for social justice and the distribution of national assets equitably. It is not to counter Hindutva politics. But the BJP is trying to get mileage from the temple issue. Against that, we have formed an INDIA alliance which will highlight the social and economic development agenda to counter the BJP. The BJP has no development agenda, they just act like the British and divide people to rule,” said Chouhan.
“The INDIA partners also understand that they need to collectively counter the BJP’s divisive politics to save democracy in the country,” he said.
