Akhilesh Yadav Extends Gratitude for Ram Mandir Invitation, Plans Family Visit Post-Consecration

Amidst political controversy, Akhilesh Yadav declines the invitation to the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22, planning to visit later with family. Congress also snubs the event, citing political motives. BJP labels declining parties as "anti-Ram." The opposition's decisions impact the BJP's electoral narrative around the Ram Mandir.

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Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav has opted not to attend the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, marking a decision that aligns him with other opposition leaders, including the Congress. Yadav, in a letter to Ram Janmabhoomi Theerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, expressed his gratitude for the invitation and affirmed his plan to visit the temple with his family after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony.

This move by Akhilesh Yadav comes amidst a broader political controversy surrounding the participation of various political parties in the upcoming ceremony. Yadav, on Friday, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using Lord Ram to undermine opposition parties. The Congress, too, has announced its decision not to attend the January 22 event, contending that it has transformed into a political spectacle rather than a religious one.

According to the Congress statement, the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have converted the temple inauguration into a political project, advancing it for electoral gain. Key Congress leaders, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, have respectfully declined the invitation, emphasizing their commitment to the 2019 Supreme Court judgment while expressing reservations about the event's political undertones.

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The declining of invitations by both Samajwadi Party and Congress, who are partners in the INDIA bloc formed to counter the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, sheds light on the escalating tension over the Ram Mandir as a political focal point.

Simultaneously, the BJP leaders have launched a counterattack, denouncing the parties rejecting the Ram temple invite as "anti-Ram" parties. This intensification of political rhetoric adds to the complexity surrounding the inauguration event, turning it into a contentious issue in the political landscape as the nation approaches the upcoming elections.