Congress leaders visit Ayodhya day before rituals begin, talk about ‘Ram Rajya’
Senior leaders Deepender Hooda and Supriya Shrinate visited the temple along with UP Congress chief Ajay Rai.
Ayodhya: Senior members of the Congress party visited Ayodhya on Monday, and paid obeisance to Lord Ram in the Hanuman Garhi temple. Their visit came a day before rituals for the January 22 consecration ceremony are scheduled to commence.
Senior leaders Deepender Hooda, Supriya Shrinate, Avinash Pande and Ajay Rai took a dip in the Sarya river before visiting the temple. They later talked about briging the proverbial ‘Ram Rajya’ in the country.
Last week, the Congress dubbed the consecration ceremony a "political event" and claimed the BJP and RSS were attempting to exact political gains from religion. It also turned down the invitation extended to its top leaders -- Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Choudhury. It later said its leaders didn't need an invitation to visit the God's abode.
Hooda, a towering Congress leader in Haryana, said he comes from a culture where people greet each other with 'ram-ram'.
"I have come here on the occasion of Makar Sankranti to seek blessings of Lord Ram... I came here last year as well... I will not take any political questions on this pious land... We come from a culture where we greet each other with 'ram ram'," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Shrinate said visiting Ayodhya has been a tradition in her family. She also said Lord Ram's dream will remain unfulfilled till the country is facing social and economic problems.
"I am from Poorvanchal, so whenever I go to Maharajganj from Lucknow, I visit Hanuman Garhi. We wish the Ram Rajya comes in this country. What is that Ram Rajya? If situations of unemployment, injustice, inflation, and economic disparity persist in the country, the dream of Lord Ram is incomplete... We have come here to fulfil that vow. I pray that Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra takes inspiration from Lord Ram and delivers justice... Generations of my family have been visiting Ayodhya, and all my future generations will visit too," she said.
Turning down the invitation, the Congress had said the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS made the Ayodhya temple their "political project". "The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain,” it said in a statement.
Also read: Ram Temple consecration event: Amitabh Bachchan buys plot for home in Ayodhya
Over 7000 people, including Bollywood actors, business honchos, cricketers and politicians, have been invited by the temple committee to the grand event.
Several politicians, including CPI chief D Raja and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, have turned down the invitation.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started a special 11-day ritual for the temple event.
"Only 11 days are left for the consecration of Ramlala in Ayodhya. I am fortunate that I will also be a witness to this auspicious occasion. The Lord has made me an instrument to represent all the people of India during the consecration. Keeping this in mind, I am starting a special ritual of 11 days from today. I am seeking blessings from all the people. At this moment, it is very difficult to express my feelings in words, but I have tried from my side…," he wrote on X.
