"A Political Project Of BJP-RSS": Jairam Ramesh On Jan 22 Ayodhya Event

Days after Congress turned down the invitation to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Temple on January 22, Congress General Secretary in Charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh, on Wednesday described the event as the "political project" of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Speaking with ANI at Mokokchung during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the Congress leader said, "Every family has a temple at their place. I have it too...This is lord Ram's politicisation."

The decision to snub the invitation to the January 12 Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony by the opposing parties of the India bloc has triggered a political slugfest just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

"The programme being held on January 22 is a political programme. This is a political project of the BJP and the RSS...This is the misuse of 'dharma'...," he added.

The latest remarks came after the opposition parties of the INDIA bloc accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of "using" the Ram Temple for electoral gains in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP, on the other hand, has been accusing the grand old party of hurting religious sentiments.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and a host of Congress bigwigs -- national president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi and the party's Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury--have already turned down the invitation to the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav earlier in the month turned down the invitation saying he will visit the temple with his family at a later date.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the ceremonial installation of Shri Ram Lalla inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Earlier, in the month, PM Modi announced a special 11-day 'anushthan' (ritual) ahead of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ayodhya's Ram Temple.