Saints, seers, karsevaks, and several other prominent people linked to the Ayodhya Ram temple movement have criticised the Congress’s decision to not attend the January 22 Pran Pratishtha (consecration) ceremony. Some have called it a “Ram virodhi party”, while others termed the move “an act to please the Muslim vote base”.
Prominent spiritual leader Mahant Raju Das from Hanuman Garhi in Ayodhya was among the first to slam the Congress decision. “It was not shocking for me. In fact, it was expected. The Congress has always been a Ram virodhi (anti-Ram) party. It is the same party that called Bhagwan Ram kalpanik (imaginary) and had raised questions about his existence. And if such a party is not attending the programme dedicated to Lord Ram, it is not surprising for us,” he said.
Das further criticised the Congress for linking the Pran Pratishtha ceremony to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), because “Lord Ram belongs to all and not a particular party or person”. “In fact, the decision to not attend the Pran Pratishtha is a face-saving act by the Congress,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Congress decided to skip the much-awaited consecration of Ram Lalla’s idol at the grand temple in Ayodhya on January 22. Calling it an “RSS/BJP event”, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, its parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and its leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury “respectfully declined” the invitation.
Seer Satyendra Das Vedanti of Sita Ram Niwas Kunj in Ayodhya too slammed the Congress’s move. “The Congress decision has once again proved that it’s an anti-Ram party. I think it’s totally wrong to connect Lord Ram to any particular party. The act is just to please its Muslim vote bank. Indeed, the party is on the decline,” said Vedanti.
Muhammad Azam Qadri, Sunni Central Waqf Board Sub Committee President in Ayodhya, said the Ram temple issue was an old one and the Congress too had been associated with it in the past. “I believe that the Congress should have attended the programme and should have taken the ceremony sportingly. Avoiding such a grand occasion does not befit the grand old party. Congress leaders should give a second thought to their decision,” Qadri said.
Some karsevaks, who dedicated their lives to the Ram temple movement, also dubbed Congress leaders “occasional Hindus”. “As frogs are occasionally seen during the month of Shravan, similarly Congressmen are occasional Hindus. They change their faces, depending on the time and situation. The Congress’s decision to decline the invitation to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony shows their ‘occasional Hindu’ mindset. I request all Sanatanis to boycott the Congress party and not vote for it in the future,” said Santosh Dubey, a karsevak who suffered three bullet wounds during the Ram temple movement in Ayodhya.
Comments
0 comment