THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Congress leadership in Kerala heaved a sigh of relief when the party high command announced its decision not to attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. With the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, the national leadership’s decision has given a new lease of life to the Congress’ poll prospects in the state.
Dismissing suggestions that the decision came a tad bit late, senior leader K Muraleedharan said, “A major secular party like Congress cannot take a hasty decision. There will be different opinions in the party. The leadership has to consider all the different opinions within the party, and also those of front partners in the INDIA block,” he told TNIE.
When pointed out that the CPM had not wasted any time to reject the invite, the former KPCC president said the CPM is a party that practises materialism. “They usually do not participate in temple ceremonies. Besides, this is not an ordinary temple. It’s built upon the residue of another place of worship. The spiritual essence of Sree Rama is present everywhere. and not contained at a particular place at Ayodhya,” he said. Welcoming the decision, former KPCC president V M Sudheeran said it will help strengthening the secular values nurtured by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
A source in Congress said. “There were only two options for Congress – either take a soft-Hindutva stand or go back to its secular credentials. With the Bilkis Bano verdict, the party sensed a chance of winning back secular votes, and arrived at the decision.”
Political analyst Ajith Sreenivasan feels the delay on the party part of the Congress at arriving at a decision might help the CPM. “The delay may create an atmosphere for the BJP- RSS to allege that the Congress caved into the pressure from Muslim organisations, especially IUML,” he told TNIE.
NSS flays decision to boycott ceremony
Kottayam: Hours after the Congress announced its decision, the Nair Service Society (NSS) subtly voiced its criticism. In a press note on Wednesday, NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair asserted that any political or other organisation opposing the sacred ceremony does so solely for selfish political motives. Nair, however, made NSS’ stance clear without naming any party.
He emphasised that it is the duty of a believer to attend the ceremony. He stressed that there is no need to consider caste or religion when it comes to participating in such an event. NSS had donated I7 lakh for construction of the Ram Mandir.