Farooq Abdullah furious over Ram temple pran-pratishtha ceremony invitation. Here's why
Farooq Abdullah said that anybody who wants to visit the Ram temple could do so without any invitation.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Friday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly sending out invitations for the Ram temple consecration ceremony, to be held on January 22, in Ayodhya. “Does Lord Ram belong only to the BJP? Who are they to send invitations to people? Do I need an invitation to visit Umrah if I want to? Does anybody need an invite to visit the Ram temple?” Farooq Abdullah said while interacting with reporters.
Farooq Abdullah added that anybody who wants to visit the Ram temple could do so without any invitation. The National Conference leader has earlier expressed happiness about the making of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying brotherhood was diminishing in India and there was a need to revive it.
"Ayodhya Ram temple is about to be inaugurated. I would like to congratulate everyone who made the effort for the temple. It's ready now… I also want to say to the entire nation that Lord Rama doesn't only belong to Hindus. He belongs to everyone in the world. He is the Lord for all the people across the world. It's written in the books," Abdullah had earlier said.
Asserting that Lord Ram was not just the God of Hindus but everyone, Farooq Abdullah said, “Lord Ram is the god of everyone, Muslims, Christians, and others. Similarly, Allah is also everyone's God, not just of Muslims.”
“A very prominent writer from Pakistan, who passed away recently, wrote that Ram was also sent by Allah to show the right path to the people. So, those who say that we are the only devotees of Ram, are fools. They only want to sell Ram, they don't have any affection for him…” he added.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has sent invitations to the people of all walks of life for the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple. The list of people invited included politicians, celebrities, industrialists and the like.
Earlier on Friday, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India Adar Poonawalla confirmed that he was invited to attend the ‘pran-pratishtha’ ceremony.
In a post on X Adar Poonawalla wrote, “I am humbled to receive the invitation to the Prabhu Shri Ram Lalla Mandir at Ayodhya through senior RSS functionaries like Shri. @Manojpochat, Pracharak Shri. Kedar Kulkarni & Shri. Prasad Lawalekar. Wholeheartedly I have accepted the invitation and it will be an honour to visit the Shri. Ram Mandir soon.”
Others, including senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, sportspersons Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and businessmen Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, and TS Kalyanaraman, have received the invitation to attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony.
However, Sonia Gandhi, Kharge, Lalu Prasad Yadav and several other opposition leaders have decided to skip the grand ceremony, calling it a BJP's ‘political event’.
"While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event," the statement issued by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh read.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders such as Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal accepted the invitation.
The consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla is scheduled to take place in Ayodhya on Monday, Janaury 22. The trust has sent out invitations to more than 11,000 guests from across the country, and special preparations are in progress to ensure that all attendees receive gifts during the ceremony.
(With inputs from ANI)
