"Hurting Religion Not Our Intention": Mallikarjun Kharge On Ram Temple Row

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday underlined his party's position on the consecration of the under-construction Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya next week, calling the event a "conspiracy of the BJP" and explaining the decision to skip was not meant to hurt religious sentiments.

Mr Kharge, among three senior leaders who received (and declined) an invite, the others being ex-boss Sonia Gandhi and the party's Lok Sabha chief, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus more on critical national issues, like unemployment and the cost of living crisis.

"Hurting any religion or guru is not our issue. Our issue is this - what work is the PM doing to ensure jobs for the public? What steps is he taking to control inflation? What is he doing for poor people?"

"People having faith can go (to the temple) today... they can go tomorrow also," Mr Kharge reasoned, criticising the BJP for orchestrating a "conspiracy" by flooding public narratives with references to the Ram Temple - months before a general election - and then attacking the Congress for skipping the event.

"It is a conspiracy of BJP that (the party) is raising this issue again and again," he told reporters.

The Congress has also pointed out that all four shankaracharya, heads of the four main Hindu religious centres, were not going either. The head of the centre in Puri had said the event has a "political angle".

"All four Shankaracharyas have decided to not visit Ayodhya... but there is no outrage over this. Does this not hurt religion? It is absolutely wrong to do politics over religious rituals," party leader Supriya Shrine said, referring, like Mr Kharge, to the BJP's "anti-Hindu" attacks on the Congress.

"We are not declining a visit (to Ayodhya). We are not going to the January 22 event that is being held in the presence of PM Modi and the RSS chief. Shankaracharyas are not going either... we don't want to be a part of the disgusting politics that is being done..." she told reporters.

On Wednesday the Congress, which had kept political observers in suspense over its Ram Temple decision, finally took a stand. Criticising the BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS, for converting a religious issue into a "political project", Jairam Ramesh said, "Religion is a personal matter... (but) inauguration of an incomplete temple by BJP and RSS has been brought forward for electoral gain."

READ | "Religion Is Personal Matter": Congress Rejects Ram Temple Event Invite

"While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment (which ruled the Ram Temple would be constructed in Ayodhya and the Babri Masjid, that had stood in its place for nearly five centuries, be moved) and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event."

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The Congress' decision was predictably pounced upon by the BJP, with Assam Chief Minister (and former party member) Himanta Biswa Sharma claiming "history will judge them as 'anti-Hindu'".

READ | Congress Opposing Even God Due To Malice For PM: BJP On Ram Temple

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi declared the Congress to be "jealous" of Mr Modi.

The Ram Temple is to be consecrated in a mega ceremony that will be held on January 22.

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