Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday opened up on the controversy Congress declining the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony. Terming it an “election function”, Rahul said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS had “captured” the event, making it difficult for the Congress to be part of the event.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that began on January 14, Rahul said the January 22 event was designed “around Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS”, giving it an “electoral” and “political” flavour.

“Even the biggest authorities of the Hindu religion have made their view public about what they think about the function,” he said, apparently referring to the objections raised by the Shankaracharyas on the consecration. Rahul was in Nagaland on the third day of his Yatra.

“The issue is that the RSS and the BJP have made the January 22 function a completely political function, a Narendra Modi function. It has become an RSS-BJP function. And I think that is why the Congress president said that he would not go to the function… It is difficult for us to go to a political function which is designed around the Prime Minister of India and the RSS, the Congress’ principal opponents,” Rahul said.

Rahul further said that his Yatra has a fixed route which will be followed when he was asked if he planned to visit the Ayodhya temple during the BJNY’s schedule in Uttar Pradesh. Notably, Rahul’s Yatra will travel through 20 districts of the state covering 1,074 km in 11 days.

Rahul said that unlike the BJP, he does not need to wear his religion on his sleeve. “My thinking is that those who really believe in religion in the true sense keep their relations with religion personal and don’t make use of religion…I try to live by the principles of religion and apply them in my life… So I behave properly with people, I treat people with respect…When someone says something, I never respond with arrogance. I listen to them. I don’t spread hatred. I follow that in my life. So I don’t need to wear it on my sleeve.”

The Congress party has come under attack from various quarters over the party leadership’s decision to skip the consecration ceremony. Congress president Mallikarjun Kahrge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were the Congress leaders invited to the event.

The BJP has dubbed the Congress party’s refusal as a reflection of its “anti-Hindu” mindset, a charge that the Congress has denied. The decision of the leadership has also ruffled a few feathers internally with several Congress leaders expressing their reservations. On Makar Sankranti on Monday, the Uttar Pradesh unit of the party was in Ayodhya to pay homage to the existing Ram Lalla idol. Senior Haryana Congress leader Deepender Hooda was also in the town on Monday to offer prayers.