Party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury “respectfully” refused an invitation from the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Trust to attend the ‘Pran Prathista’ event at Ayodhya on January 22, months before the country’s elections.
According to a statement, the Congress’ senior leaders would not attend the opening ceremonies of the Ram temple at Ayodhya on January 22. According to the party statement, “Lord Ram is adored by thousands in our country” and “religion is a personal matter”.
The Congress accused the BJP of using the opening of an “unfinished” temple to obtain electoral support.
According to reports, the late Rajiv Gandhi was unaware that the locks on the Babri Masjid had been unlocked. However, Rajiv Gandhi, the then-prime minister, allowed the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) to hold the ‘ shilanyas’ (the basic stone-laying ceremony) at the contested location.
In terms of the approval and denial of the Ram Mandir appear to be a vote-based decision for the great old party.
Particularly, the Congress has long been described as a minority-friendly party. Yet, for the BJP, the Ram Janmabhoomi topic and Hindu appeasement continue to be the bait. The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title case case was decided in 2019 by the Supreme Court in favour of the Hindu side. This was also applauded by Congress.
However, the contemporary Indian sociopolitical atmosphere has been bipolar, with minorities taking a backseat to Hindu dominance. The BJP has portrayed the Congress as ‘anti-Hindu’ and used this to gain votes in the last two Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress rejected the Ram Mandir invitation on Wednesday, framing it as a “BJP-RSS political event” in light of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP government-Sangh crossover in the activities leading up to the dedication of Ram Mandir is also visible, with the VHP and RSS in charge of invitations and celebrations, respectively.
Sonia Gandhi previously claimed that the party’s leaders had “convinced people, persuaded individuals that the Congress Government is a Muslim party”.
While the Congress succeeded in preventing isolation within the INDIA bloc’s survival plank, whether the rejection would benefit the great old party will be determined by the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Mallikarjun Kharge’s party has always struggled when it rejects the fundamentalist agenda.