Cong still mum on Kharge, Sonia going to Ram Temple event

The speculation on whether Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Sonia Gandhi will attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony continued with the party on Thursday saying that their decision would be conveyed at the 'right time'.

Asked whether Kharge and Gandhi will attend the ceremony, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, at a media briefing after a meeting of general secretaries, state in-charges, state unit chiefs and Congress Legislature Party leaders at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi, said, "Don't try to divert, this is about 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'. There was no discussion on this topic (at the meeting)."

"There was discussion about the 2024 (Lok Sabha) elections and about 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'. You asked about the invitation, I have said it again and again, I will say it once again... Kharge ji has received the invitation, Sonia ji has received the invitation. At the right time, I will tell you their decision," Ramesh said.

Besides Kharge and Gandhi, Congress' leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has also been invited to the ceremony.

The consecration ceremony will be held on January 22 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend it.