No bar on visiting Ram Mandir, says Congress

As the Congress leadership faced more public dissent from within against the leadership's decision to decline the invite to the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the AICC on Friday tried to play safe by clarifying that the leadership was skipping the event due to its "politicisation" by the ruling dispensation and that otherwise anybody from the party could visit the Ram temple on other days.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also said the decision to decline the invite to the Ram temple inauguration was not intended to hurt anyone or any religion and that he had maintained that "for those for whome it is a matter of faith (aastha), they can go tomorrow or the day after." He alleged a "BJP conspiracy" to attack the Congress on the issue.

The latest public dissent includes senior party leader Karan Singh asserting that after the apex court judgement on Ayodhya there should not be any hesitation to attend the Ram temple function, and former MP Lakshman Singh, brother of Digvijaya Singh, questioning the logic of the leadership, its advisors, and warning that it will cost the Congress in the elections.


The AICC clarification came amid indications of more protests from within in the offing against the leadership's decision. AICC spokespersons Pawan Khera and Supriya Shrinathe said the leadership turned down the invite due to the way the ruling side were politicising it. Otherwise, party leaders could visit the temple on any other day and pointed out that a UP Congress delegation would be doing so on January 15.