Watch: PM Modi, a Ram Bhakt, coming for consecration, says Ayodhya Ram temple chief priest

The Chief Priest of the Ayodhya Ram temple, Satyendra Das, called out the opposition parties for attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the Ram Temple consecration.

"Every story has two sides: one is political and the other is religious. In the case of religion, when someone has belief in Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, or Shiv, he is not a PM; he is a common man and just another devotee," Das said.

He asserted that statements made by the opposition were wrong and added, "What he (PM) is doing is out of belief and devotion for Lord Ram. So saying such things is wrong. He is a Ram Bhakt who is just coming to participate in the Ram Temple Consecration."

Earlier, senior Congress leaders declined the invitation to the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, as the BJP has made the event its "political program."

In reply, the BJP slammed the Congress's decision to decline the invitation to its three top leaders to attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, claiming it has exposed the party's inherent opposition to India's culture and Hindu religion.

Due to its feelings of "jealousy, malice, and inferiority complex" towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress had gone to the extent of opposing the country and is now opposing God, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters.

The Ram temple in Ayodhya symbolises the highest values of Indian traditions and culture, he said, but for the Congress and other opposition parties with a similar mindset extremist politics is more important, he alleged.