Sharad Pawar declines Ram Mandir invite, says will go for ‘darshan’ after pran pratishtha

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has decided to skip the the pran pratishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. In a letter to General Secretary of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Champat Rai, Sharad Pawar said he will take time out after the pran pratishtha ceremony and visit Ayodhya for “darshan".

“After the pran pratistha ceremony is completed on January 22, I will freely take out time and come for darshan and by then the construction work of Ram temple will also be completed," Sharad Pawar said in the letter. ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of making it a “political project".

The Congress statement said, “Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain." “While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment 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," it said.

Mesanwhile, Rahul Gandhi defended his party's decision to decline the Ram Mandir invite, alleging the Ram Mandir consecration event has been made into a "Narendra Modi and RSS BJP function" with an "election flavour". “The issue frankly is that the RSS and the BJP have made the 22 January function a completely political, Narendra Modi function.

It is difficult for us to go to a political function which is designed around the PM and the RSS. We made it clear whoever would like to visit the Ram temple among our partners, among our parties is more than welcome to do so," Rahul Gandhi said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22.

As per temple officials, the ceremony will be held over a span of seven days starting from January 16. Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away!.