HP Cong chief praises Modi for Ram temple construction

A couple of days after the Congress high command decided not to attend the consecration event at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the party's Himachal Pradesh unit chief Pratibha Singh commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the initiative of constructing the temple.

In a video which surfaced on X, Singh is heard saying, "The initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to construct the Ram Temple is really commendable."

She also said that her late husband and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh had immense faith in gods and renovated several temples in the state.

Later, talking to the PTI on Friday evening, the Himachal Pradesh Congress chief said she and her son Vikramaditya Singh have received a joint invitation and she is yet to take a call on attending the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya on January 22.

In the video, she said that Hindus constitute 98 per cent of the total population of Himachal Pradesh and added that "we all have faith in Lord Ram and we want our religion to progress."

Top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday "respectfully declined" the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, with the party accusing the BJP of making it into a "political project" for electoral gains and asserting that religion is a "personal matter".

The BJP said that there is nothing new in the Congress' stand as the opposition party and its allies have been "insulting" Hindus and Sanatan Dharma and claimed it will face a "boycott" from the people of India for its decision.

On January 8 Vikramaditya Singh made his stand clear and said that he would attend the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

"This is not a political issue and I consider myself fortunate to be among the few invitees from Himachal Pradesh and thank the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishva Hindu Parishad for giving this honour to me and my family," Singh had said.

A day later, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that they do not need any invitation to go to Ayodhya. "We would go to Ayodhya after the consecration ceremony," he had said.