NEW DELHI: CPI (M) general Secretary Sitaram Yechury has turned down the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya which will take place on January 22, 2024.
Nripendra Misra, Chairman of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Construction Committee invited Yechury for the consecration ceremony. In 2019, after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site, the CPM said that the Ayodhya judgment had given precedence to the ‘faith and beliefs of one side’ and said that a verdict had been delivered but it was not justice.
In 2020, Yechury criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for laying the foundation stone of Ram Temple at Ayodhya saying that it was a violation of the Constitution in letter and spirit.
The committee has extended invitations to opposition leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, former PM Manmohan Singh, and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, among others. Though, the Congress thanked the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust for the invitation, it has not yet made clear its stand on whether its top leaders will be attending the ceremony.
Congress general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal on Thursday said that the leaders have received an invitation to the ceremony. “They have invited us, we are very much thankful to them for inviting us, let us see”, he said on the sidelines of the Congress Working Committee meeting.
When asked whether top leaders would attend the ceremony, Venugopal said, “You will know about the party’s stand.” Earlier, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that Sonia Gandhi was ‘very positive on this matter’, referring to the invitation. Singh said that either Gandhi or a delegation from her side would attend the ceremony.
When asked if he had received any invitation to the grand ceremony, Singh said, “The BJP will not invite me because they are not inviting the true devotees. Whether it be Murli Manohar Joshi, L K Advani or Digvijay Singh, they will not be given the invitation,” he said.