As Congress Welcomes Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan, Its Kerala Ally Muslim League Gets Upset, Calls Meeting

The Congress is now out to highlight the party’s contribution to the construction of the Ram Temple, whose ground breaking ceremony is scheduled to be held in Ayodhya on Wednesday (5 August) with Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in attendance.

Congress leaders are making statements so that they should not be seen to be left out of the historic event.

On Tuesday, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi issued a statement saying that the construction of the Ram Temple will be a marker of national unity, brotherhood and cultural harmony.

Former Madhya Pradesh (CM) chief minister (CM) Kamal Nath organised a recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa at his residence in Bhopal and said that “We are sending 11 silver bricks to Ayodhya from the people of Madhya Pradesh. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the historic day for which the entire country was waiting.”

On the other hand, Congress' crucial ally in Kerala Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has called an emergency meeting of its leaders on Wednesday in Kozhikode.

The IUML - the second-biggest constituent of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala - called the meeting of its top brass, after several Congress leaders welcomed the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony in Ayodhya to start construction of the Ram temple.

All the top IUML leaders, including senior lawmaker P KKunhalikutty, will take part in the meeting to be chaired by party supremo Panakkad Hyderali Shihab Thangal.

The outcome of the meeting is expected to be known by the time the ceremony concludes at Ayodhya.

The Congress which has not been invited for the official programme organised by the Temple Trust does not want any controversy and the party categorically said that it is the prerogative of the Trust to decide the guest list. On Tuesday the party said that it is happy that the Ram Mandir is finally being constructed.

In Chhattisgarh, where the Congress is in power, the government has initiated a new tourism circuit that will connect all the important places which Lord Ram is said to have visited during his exile from Ayodhya. The state government has identified 75 places for the Ram Van Gaman Path.

The Congress is highlighting the work done by the previous government and the contributions of late Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao towards the Mandir issue.

The party leaders are saying that Rajiv Gandhi was the first to make serious moves on the Mandir issue. When he was the Prime Minister he allowed the opening of the locks of the Ram Mandir and then facilitated the Shilanyas there in 1989.

During the tenure of PV Narasimha Rao the demolition of the disputed mosque took place in 1992 and under his government the adjacent land was acquired.

(With inputs from IANS)