Congress gives green signal to its leaders to attend Ram Mandir event: Sources

The Congress high command has given a green signal to party leaders who are willing to attend the inauguration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, sources told India Today TV.

The Congress high command held a meeting with its state unit leaders at party headquarters in Delhi on Thursday ahead of the seat-sharing discussions with other Opposition allies in the INDIA bloc. During the meeting, the issue of Ram Mandir cropped up as Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar asked for clarity from the high command on whether they would attend the January 22 inauguration ceremony.

Sources said that Congress President Mallikarujun Kharge indicated that the invite to him and Sonia Gandhi came considering their position in Parliament as Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) and Chairperson of the Congress parliamentary board,



respectively.

Kharge said that the party had no diktat for the leaders and that anybody who wanted to offer prayers at the temple was free to go, sources said.

According to sources, Congress Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Rai and Bihar unit chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh are likely to visit Ram Mandir on January 20 and 21, respectively.

Congress sources said this is necessary to counter BJP's 'politicisation' of the inauguration ceremony as top party leaders, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will attend the event.

According to Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) Working President Alok Kumar, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra has sent invitations to senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for the inauguration of Ram Mandir on January 22.