BJP chief Nadda to skip Ram temple consecration event

Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda will skip the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and instead watch the historic event from the Jhandewalan temple in New Delhi.

In a post on X on Saturday, he thanked the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is in charge of the temple's construction and management, for inviting him to the January 22 "Pran Pratishtha" event.

Noting that the grand temple is being built after 500 years of struggle, he said he will visit it with his family after January 22 for "darshan".

Several BJP leaders, including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, have been invited to the event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence will be one of the highlights.

The ruling party's leaders are likely to watch the ceremony from different parts of the country along with others, including the masses, amid the suggestion from the leadership that they should visit the temple after January 22 when a large number of guests are expected.

The trust has invited main leaders, mostly presidents, of all key parties.

Almost all opposition leaders invited to the ceremony have declined to attend it, with the Congress calling it a BJP-RSS event.