Ram Mandir inauguration ‘Modi’s function’: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi takes a dig at Indian PM

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (Jan 16), referring to the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony in Ayodhya as ‘Modi’s function’.

"The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS]and the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] have made the January 22nd function a completely political Narendra Modi function. It's an RSS-BJP function and I think that is why the Congress president [Mallikarjun Kharge] said that he would not attend the function," said Gandhi.

"We are open to all religions, all practices. Even the authorities of the Hindu religion, the biggest authorities of the Hindu religion, have made their view public about what they think about the January 22 function, that it is a political function," he said.

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"So it is difficult for us to go to a political function which is designed around the Prime Minister of India and designed around the RSS," he added.

Senior Congress leaders refuse to attend Jan 22 ceremony

Rahul Gandhi's comments followed a refusal from the senior leadership of the Congress to attend the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. The party asserted that the consecration event had unmistakably transformed into an event aligned with the RSS/BJP.

"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 obviously been 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," the Congress party said in a statement.

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In contrast, on Monday (Jan 15), prominent members of the Congress party travelled to Ayodhya, where they offered their respects to Lord Ram at the Hanuman Garhi temple. Deepender Hooda, Supriya Shrinate, Avinash Pande, and Ajay Rai, senior leaders of the party, took bath in the holy Saryu river before their temple visit. Additionally, they discussed the aspiration to establish the metaphorical 'Ram Rajya' in the nation.

(With inputs from agencies)