Frowning on the decision by the Congress bigwigs to turn down the invite to the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, on January 22, the former party president in Gujarat on Wednesday said the high command should have refrained from taking such ‘political decisions’.

On Wednesday, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi and the party’s Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, declined the invite to the ‘Pran Patishtha’ of Lord Ram, labelling it as a ‘BJP-RSS event’.

However, Arjun Modhwadia, a senior Congress leader in Gujarat, took to social media platform X to express his disapproval of the party’s decision to skip the event.

“The Indian National Congress should have stayed away from making such political decisions,” the former Congress Gujarat chief posted from his official X handle on Wednesday.

Also Read: ‘Clearly RSS-BJP event’: Sonia Gandhi, Kharge ‘respectfully decline’ Ram Temple invite

“Lord Shri Ram is the deity of worship. This is a matter of faith and belief for the people of the country,” Modhwadia added in his post.

Congress general secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh informed through a press statement that the party senior leaders have declined the invitation to attend the Pran Pratishtha.

“Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS and 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,” as per the Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh press statement.

“While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgement and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event,” it added.

Also Read: ‘Like Ravana in Treta Yug’: BJP slams Congress after party declines Ram temple inauguration invite

Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya will begin on January 16, a week before the main ceremony. A priest from Varanasi, Lakshmi Kant Dixit, will perform the main rituals of the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22. From January 14 to January 22, Ayodhya will mark the Amrit Mahotsav.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22.

Congress faces backlash

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has tore into the Congress after the party’s top leaders said that they would not attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

The BJP called the Congress ‘anti-Ram’ and said that the party’s stand and its allies have been regularly ‘insulting’ Hindus and Sanatana Dharma.

A day after harsh criticism from the BJP, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday endorsed the Congress high command’s decision not to attend the ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying the BJP has turned a religious event into a political affair.

Also Read: After Congress declines Ram Temple invite, Himachal party chief’s son to attend, says ‘moral duty’

He also pointed out that four Shankaracharyas are reported to have boycotted the consecration of the temple “in protest against the misuse of the Ram Mandir for politics,” reported PTI.

Siddaramaiah’s comments turned the issue into a war of words as other BJP leaders also responded to the Karnataka CM’s comments. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that “Siddaramaiah is instigating some people to curtail DK Shivakumar. It is his game plan… Out of the last 14 years, as quoted by Siddaramaiah, Karnataka tableau has been given an opportunity in the Republic Day Parade 10 times. It was rejected in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. Whose government was there at that time?…”