New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor Thursday said he will not attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya next month, becoming the first party leader to publicly announce a decision on a matter that has put the high command in a bind.
Speaking to reporters outside the Congress headquarters in Kerala, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said he considers matters of faith to be personal and temples a place to “connect with the divine”, rather than a stage for “political theatre”.
“I would love to visit the Ram temple one day, but not during a grand political extravaganza like the inauguration and not before the elections, so that no political statement is read into my going,” Tharoor told reporters. He also posted his statement on X.
"To my mind, Temple is not a political stage, it is a place for people to contemplate the divine, do their prayers, live their normal and personal lives and it is a personal choice," says Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, on party leadership being invited to Ayodhya Ram temple… pic.twitter.com/g5f0QNxpG0
— editorji (@editorji) December 28, 2023
Tharoor, who had unsuccessfully contested against Mallikarjun Kharge in the Congress’s presidential polls, said the 22 January inauguration in Ayodhya should not be seen or misused politically.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, which is the trust set up by the Centre to build and manage the temple, has invited Kharge, Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the party’s Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to the opening.
Tharoor said invitees should be “free to make a personal choice, rather than be described as anti-Hindu if they don’t go or playing into the BJP’s hands if they do”. His comment defines the dilemma the Congress leadership is now confronted with.
Tharoor also clarified that he has not been invited to the inauguration. His remarks come a day after Congress overseas wing chief Sam Pitroda’s views on the Ram Mandir drew sharp criticism from the ruling BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Speaking about the relevance of the Ram Mandir as an issue before the 2024 polls, Pitroda had said: “Is Ram Mandir the real issue? Or is unemployment a real issue? Is Ram Mandir the real issue or inflation? Is Ram Mandir the real issue or is the air pollution in Delhi the real issue?”
He said it bothered him when a nation was involved in a Ram temple. “To me, religion is a personal thing. Don’t confuse it with the national agenda,” Pitroda remarked.
BJP MP Sushil Modi retaliated by saying “people like Sam Pitroda have no knowledge about our culture”, while VHP president Alok Kumar called his comments a confirmation that “Congress maintains a distance with Lord Ram”.
Sonia Gandhi to attend inauguration?
Former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijaya Singh said last week that either Sonia Gandhi or a delegation on her behalf would attend the inauguration. She was “positive” about the issue, he added.
However, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal has refused to clarify whether the former Congress president would be at the event. “You will know on the 22nd. They invited us. We are thankful to them for inviting us,” Venugopal said.
Meanwhile, several allies of the Opposition INDIA bloc have said they will not attend the event.
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has said the event is a “straightforward politicisation of the religious belief of the people which is not in consonance with the Constitution”. He has declined his invitation.
The Shiv Sena, which was instrumental in the mandir movement in the 1990s but is now in the Opposition, has also refused to attend the event, calling it a “BJP programme”.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, “This is all politics… Who wants to attend an event by the BJP? This is not a national event. This is the BJP’s programme.” He added party leaders would “definitely visit the temple”, but after the inauguration.
Also read: Kerala BJP urges clarity from Congress leaders on Ram Temple consecration ceremony invitation