"Lord Ram Is 'Aradhya' God": Gujarat Congress Leader Arjun Modhwadia Slams Party For Declining Ayodhya Ram Temple Event Invite

Senior Congress leader in Gujarat and former state unit president Arjun Modhwadia on Thursday (10 January) slammed the party leadership for declining the invite to attend Ayodhya Ram Temple inauguration.

In a post on X, Modhvadia posted a copy of senior leader Jairam Ramesh's statement on Congress decision regarding the Ram Temple event.

"Lord Shri Ram is a highly respected and worshipped god. This is a matter of faith and belief of the countrymen. Congress should have stayed away from taking such political decisions," read a rough translation of his post.

"Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain," read the statement from Jairam Ramesh.

The statement was criticised by BJP, which said that Congress' stand on Ram Temple event on 22 January was "no surprise", given the party's history.

"Congress took no steps over the last few decades for a temple in Ayodhya. They denied the existence of Lord Ram and delayed the hearing in the Supreme Court. So, the Congress party officially stating that it is not going to attend Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha (consecration ceremony) should come as no surprise," said BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli, NDTV reported.