Ram temple under construction, ahead of the consecration ceremony, in Ayodhya.
Credit: PTI Photo
The Bharatiya Janata Party said that the Congress was “anti-Hindu” for declining the invite to the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
The party fielded union ministers Anurag Thakur, Smriti Irani and Hardeep Puri to accuse the Congress of being against the idea of the temple.
Anurag Thakur, union minister of Information & Broadcasting and Youth affairs and Sports, said that the Congress’s boycott of the event will lead to its boycott from the people.
“This is the same Congress which described Lord Ram as an imaginary figure, who spoke of rebuilding the Babri Masjid, who fielded advocates against Ram Lalla in the case. The Congress has always stood against Sanatan Dharam, opposed Ram Setu and alleged Hindus of fundamentalism – this development is not new. Today, when Congress has boycotted the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony, it can be clearly seen that the people of India will also boycott them in the coming future,” Thakur told reporters.
Kapil Khanna, president of the Delhi unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said that the Congress should leave politics for one day. “We took time from all important individuals and gave them the invite and told them about the details of the function; some accepted it and then have turned down the invites. The Congress should do its politics till January 21, and resume it on January 23, and leave it for Lord Ram on January 22,” Khanna told DH.
He added among the 7000-8000 invites, 45 went to Hindu saints, 1500 to the aides of the saints and over 1500 to prominent people around the globe. “Invites went out to all major political parties, the Congress was given three invites, which is almost as much as that we extended to the BJP, if we do not account temple movement stalwarts like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi,” Khanna added.
Union minister for women and child development and minority affairs Smriti Irani said that the Congress party is opposed to Ram.
“The Congress’s anti-Ram face is before the nation. It is no surprise that under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the party that had filed an affidavit before the court that Lord Ram is a fictional character, its leadership declined the invitation to the ‘pranpratishtha’ of Ram Temple. For all Ram devotees, this is a pious day and they have rejected it,” Irani said. “The declining of the invitation to the ‘pranpratishtha’ by leaders of the I.N.D.I.A bloc reflects their anti-Sanatan mindset.”