Ram Temple inauguration: The Congress turned down an invitation to Lord Ram Lalla’s ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony, which is scheduled for later this month in Ayodhya, citing the Ram Temple inauguration as a BJP and RSS event.
Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have ‘declined’ the invitation to the grand event, the party’s general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.
“Last month, the Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and the Leader of the Congress Party in the Lok Sabha Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury received an invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya to be held on January 22nd, 2024,” he stated.
“Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. 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. While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event,” it further stated.
On January 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the installation ceremony for Ram Lalla’s idol at the grand temple. According to temple officials, the ceremony will last seven days, beginning on January 16.
Preparations have started for the Ram Temple’s ‘Pran Pratishtha’ on January 22, which will attract dignitaries and people from all walks of life. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has decided to enthrone Ram Lalla in the Ram Temple’s sanctum sanctorum at noon on January 22. The Vedic rituals for Ram Lalla’s Pran-Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya will begin on January 16, one week before the main ceremony.
Lakshmi Kant Dixit, a priest from Varanasi, will perform the main rituals of Ram Lalla’s consecration ceremony on January 22. From January 14 to January 22, Ayodhya will celebrate the Amrit Mahotsav. Ayodhya, Lord Rama’s birthplace, is deeply spiritual, historical, and culturally significant to the people of India.
