Union Minister Pralhad Joshi strongly criticized the Congress, accusing the party’s top leadership of rejecting the invitation to attend the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya for the sake of appeasement. According to Joshi, the Congress has consistently opposed Hindu beliefs and has a history of opposing the construction of the Ram Temple. He remarked that the present Congress has reached the “heights of appeasement.”
The Congress, on its part, labeled the Ram temple consecration ceremony as a “BJP/RSS event” and announced that leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury would not be attending the ceremony on January 22. The BJP responded with a strong critique, accusing the Congress of being against the Ram Janmabhoomi from the beginning.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi invoked India’s first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, stating that the current Congress is not Gandhi’s Congress and criticized the party for not participating in the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony, claiming it reflects the Congress’s opposition to Hindu religion and Hindutva.
BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav went further, labeling the Congress and Akhilesh Yadav as “Anti-Hindu forces” and alleging that such forces are gaining strength in the country. Yadav accused the Congress of opposing the Ram Janmabhoomi from the start and claimed that the citizens of the country are standing with Lord Ram.
However, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed support for the senior Congress leaders’ decision to abstain from the Ayodhya program. Siddaramaiah accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sangh Parivar leaders of disrespecting Lord Ram and the nation’s 140 crore people by politicizing a religious event. He emphasized the Congress party’s consistent support for the construction of the Ram Mandir while criticizing the BJP, RSS, and VHP for alleged hypocrisy in accepting the court’s decision.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also criticized the Union Government, alleging the politicization of a religious event in a post, stating, “Much to think about as the nation braces itself for the Jan 22 inauguration by a political leader of an incomplete temple, with priests relegated to supporting roles in a pre-election political spectacle.”
