Congress to skip Pran Pratistha ceremony, calls it ‘RSS-BJP event’; declines invite for event

New Delhi: After dilly-dallying over prospects of attending the historic Pran Pratistha ceremony at Ram Temple on February 22, the Congress party on Wednesday made it clear that it won’t be part of the celebrations in Ayodhya.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi won’t participate in the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, the party said in a press release.

Notably, all of them were extended invitation for the Ram Lalla’s Pran Pratistha ceremony and were among the 30,000 VIP invitees whose presence has been sought in Ayodhya on January 22.

While declining an invite for the event, Congress termed it a ‘political project’ of the BJP, being undertaken for ‘electoral gains’.

It also said that inauguration of incomplete temple by the BJP & RSS leaders makes it a nothing less than RSS-BJP event and hence top Congress leaders respectfully decline an invitation for the Ram Lalla event.

The press statement makes party’s stand clear about its stance on Ram Temple, while its alliance partners in INDIA bloc continue to speak in different voices about the consecration ceremony.

The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be inaugurated on January 22 and will see presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath besides hundreds of Hindu seers & saints. Moer than 6,000 people including industrialists, celebrities are likely to attend the ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony.