Congress Rejects Invitation to Ayodhya Ram Mandir Inauguration Ceremony
The Congress party’s senior leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have rejected the invitation extended by Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Trust to attend the тАШPran PrathistaтАЩ ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22. The Congress has made it clear that its leaders will not attend the inauguration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, months before India heads to the polls. The invitation to the ceremony was extended by the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Trust.
Congress’s Stance
The Congress has described the inauguration of an тАЬincomplete” temple as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ploy for electoral gain. The party’s notion of Ram Janmabhoomi agitation and subsequent breaking down of Babri Masjid remained one of vacillations.
Congress’s Historical Standpoint
In 1991, the Congress promised to be in favor of the Ram Mandir, and in 1992, the Babri Masjid came down under the watch of a Congress government at the Centre. The acceptance and rejection of the Ram Mandir has seemingly been a vote-based choice for the grand old party. Notably, the Congress has always been termed a minority-appeasing party.
BJP’s Stance
For the BJP, the Ram Janmabhoomi issue and appeasement of the Hindus have remained the bait. The party has projected the Congress as тАШanti-HinduтАЩ and capitalized on this to win votes in the past two Lok Sabha polls. The BJP government-Sangh overlap in the events leading up to the consecration of Ram Mandir is also evident, with the invitations and celebrations being managed by the VHP and the RSS.
Outlook
The Congress in its rejection of the Ram Mandir invite framed it so that the inauguration was a тАЬBJP-RSS political event,” keeping in mind the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. While the Congress managed not to isolate itself within the survival plank, the INDIA bloc, whether the rejection will play out in favor of the grand old party will only be understood in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Historically, rejection of the fundamentalist agenda has not been kind to the Mallikarjun Kharge-led party.
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