Guwahati, Jan 10: As the preparations are in full swing for the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge; Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi; and the leader of the Congress Party in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have declined the invitation for the ceremony saying that “the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya.”
In an official statement, the Congress General Secretary (Communications), Jairam Ramesh said last month, Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury received the invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony slated to be held on January 22.
He said, “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. While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event.”