Congress Leaders Observe Ram Mandir Ceremony, Despite Party Rejecting Invite

UP Congress chief Ajay Rai led a large delegation to Ayodhya on 15 January.

This poster was shared by UP Congress president Ajay Rai, who is visiting Ram Temple along with 100 members of the party.

(UP Congress)

Even as the Congress party’s leadership has declined the invitation to the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on 22 January, many of its leaders and functionaries are observing the event, and some have decided to visit Ayodhya as well.

Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge, his predecessor Sonia Gandhi, and Lok Sabha floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony on 22 January, and in a statement, they called the event a “RSS/BJP event”. “Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain,” the party had said in a statement, adding that it “respectfully” declines the invite.

However, soon, multiple Congress leaders including government ministers, expressed that they will be celebrating the event and/or participating in it. UP Congress president Ajay Rai led a large delegation to Ayodhya on 15 January.

Congress sources say this is part of the party’s strategy to not seem averse to Hindu religion and the Ram Temple. But the BJP has sought to highlight this difference in the leadership’s position and that of other party members. Some Congress leaders have also openly criticised the leadership’s decision to reject the invitation.  

Karnataka Congress Minister Order 34000 State Temples To Hold Special Prayers On 22 January

The Congress-run Karnataka government has instructed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to arrange special prayers at all government-run temples on 22 January, to celebrate the consecration of the Ram Temple.

The direction has come from the endowment minister Ramalinga Reddy, who explained the move saying that the inauguration of the Ram Temple is a special day for all Hindus. Reddy said there are 34,000 such temples, where the prayer will be held.

“January 22nd is also one such special day for all Hindus: The new Ram Mandir is being opened as the dispute over the land is now a closed chapter.... To claim that only those in the BJP are devotees of Lord Ram, and others are not is a bit too much. With or without BJP, the special Pooja would go on,” Reddy said in his statement.

The installation ceremony for the Lord Ram idol is scheduled to take place in Ayodhya between 12:29 pm and 1:32 pm on January 22. The prayers in Karnataka’s temples will take place simultaneously.

Reddy further said that BJP alone cannot stake claim at the Hindu faith or the respect believer have towards the Ram Temple. “The BJP seeks to indulge in divisive politics here and trade on people’s devotion to Prabhu Sri Ram. People can see the naked attempts of the BJP to claim the power of Lord Sri Ram as its own,” the minister said.

The BJP mocked the leader’s attempts, highlighting how it came just days after the Congress leadership’s statement rejecting the invite to Ayodhya. “No..this is not a deep fake video, but the true power of Prabhu Shri Ram. It's ironic that the Congress Party who is always against Prabhu Shri Ram, known for questioning and even ridiculing his existence, are now doing Ram Japa,” BJP Karnataka posted on X, formerly Twitter.

UP Congress Leaders Visit Ayodhya To Pray At Ram Temple

Meanwhile, many Congress leaders have said they will visit Ayodhya’s Ram Temple either before or after 22 January.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he will visit Ayodhya after January 22, whenever he gets time to pay his obeisance to Lord Ram.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress party’s state president Ajay Rai is leading a cavalcade of over 100 party workers to Ayodhya on Monday, 15 January.

“At 9.13 am, the Sun will become 'Uttarayan' (northward movement of the Sun), and at 9.15 am, we will depart for Ayodhya chanting 'Jai Siya Ram' after observing the tradition of breaking coconut,” Rai has said.

National-level Congress leaders will also be participating in this exercise including AICC general secretary in charge of UP, Avinash Pande and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda.

Himachal Pradesh Congress Ministers Thanks RSS-VHP For Invite, Says Will Attend

While most Congress leaders seem to have decided to celebrate the consecration ceremony from a distance, Congress’ minister from Himachal Pradesh, Vikramaditya Singh has announced that he would go to Ayodhya to participate in the January 22 event. The MLA from Shimla and son of former Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh has been invited to join the ceremony by RSS-VHP.

“This is not a political matter. I consider myself lucky, because only a few people from Himachal Pradesh have been invited to the consecration ceremony,” Singh said.

He further extended special thanks to the RSS-VHP and said it is his responsbility to participate in the event.

“I want to thank the RSS and VHP for inviting me for 22nd, the day when PM Modi will be in Ayodhya. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to witness history. As a Hindu and sanatani, and believer of Dev Samaj, it is my responsibility to be there,” Singh said. 

Senior Leader Karan Singh Says 'Should Not Hesitate To Attend After SC Verdict'

Senior Congress leader from Jammu and Kashmir, Karan Singh, has said that “after the Supreme Court judgment, there should be no hesitation in attending the function.”

In 2019, the Supreme Court had ruled for a Ram Temple to be built on the site, in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. The Congress had welcomed the SC verdict.

In a statement, Singh, 93, said he has received the "beautiful invitation" to the "historic pran pratishtha ceremony", but won’t be able to attend due to health reasons.

Singh added that his family Trust will be holding special celebrations on the ocassion in Jammu as well as Delhi.

"As a Raghuvanshi myself, and having made a modest personal donation of ₹ 11 lakh towards the construction, it would have been a great pleasure to attend...However, our family Dharmarth Trust (J&K) is organising a special celebration on this occasion at our famous Sri Raghunath Temple in Jammu, and we are also doing so on a smaller scale at our Shri Ram Mandir on Lodhi Road,” he said. 

Backlash From Party Members For Rejecting Invite

Congress sources say the leadership hasn’t restricted any member of the party to attend the ceremony or visit Ayodhya, and all members are free to do as they like. This decision to decline the invite by the top leadership and yet allow everyone else to attend if they like stems from not wanting to seem opposed to the temple or sentiments of the Hindu community.

Despite this, multiple Congress members have expressed their disappointment in the party’s decision to officially decline the invite.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Gujarat Congress working president Ambarish Der wrote, “Some people of the Congress party should maintain distance from that particular kind of statement and respect the public sentiment wholeheartedly,” adding that “Such statements are disappointing for Gujarat Congress workers like me.”

Former Gujarat Congress president Arjun Modhwadia also said the Congress should have stayed away from taking such “political decisions”.

“This is a matter of faith and belief of the people of the country,” he said.

Congress leader from UP Acharya Pramod Krishnam has openly supported the Ram Temple multiple times in the past. Most recently, he told reporters that the consecration ceremony will mark the beginning of ‘Ram Rajya’ in India. "We are very fortunate that we can see the completion of the construction of Ram Temple...I think 22nd January is the date of re-establishment of Ram Rajya in India."

The leader criticised the Congess’ decision. “This decision has broken the hearts of many party workers. This decision is very painful."