Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren says he will attend Ram Mandir inauguration if invited.
A row has gained ground over who has been invited and who has nodded to attend Pran Pratishtha (consecration) of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in January 2024.
It has become a political issue ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due next year. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar expressed his disappointment after not being invited to the Ram Mandir inauguration ceremony that will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, other ministers and dignitaries.
Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor also stated that he has not been invited to the Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration event on January 22.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Tharoor said, "Was interrogated by the waiting press, wanting to know if I would be going to Ayodhya. I told them I hadn't been invited but I saw religion as a personal attribute and not one for political (mis)use."
"Temples are not the government's business; unemployment, inflation, public welfare, and national security are. But the media allows the temple to turn the focus away from those issues!" the Congress MP added.
CPI (M) leader Brinda Karat also underlined her part's decision to skip the January 22 event, calling it the "politicization of a religious program".
"No, we will not go. We respect the religious beliefs... but they are connecting a religious program with politics. Using religion as a political weapon or to advance a political agenda is not right," Karat told ANI.
Kapil Sibal also said he didn't feel the need to attend the ceremony because he had "Lord Ram in my heart".
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has sent invitations to Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, said sources. However, they added that senior Congress leaders are unlikely to attend the ceremony.
Apart from them, Former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and H D Deve Gowda have also received the invitation. The invitations, as per the sources, were delivered by a delegation of those associated with the Trust.
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