Left in a spot over the invitation extended to top party leaders by the Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra for the grand inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Congress leadership appears to be looking for a safe passage through what could prove to be tricky terrain.
Last week, the Ram Temple trust extended an invitation to Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. The party is yet to articulate its stand on whether any of the three leaders will attend the event.
When quizzed if he would attend the event, Chowdhury told The Indian Express that while he had been invited formally “with all courtesy”, the build-up to the consecration by the BJP and RSS reflected “religion as well as a political ambition”.
Party MP Shashi Tharoor said that religious faith is a personal matter that should not be “misused” politically. “I hope each of the invitees is left 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 attend,” he told The Indian Express.
Also Read: ‘She is very positive’: Sonia Gandhi likely to attend Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, says Digvijaya Singh
The only Congress leader to have openly come out in support of the party being part of the ceremony is Digvijaya Singh. Confirming that the invitation had been extended to the party leaders, Singh said that the temple trust did not belong to any party and that either Sonia Gandhi or a party delegation would attend the ceremony.
“She (Sonia) has always been very positive on these issues. The party has to take a stand. I am with the party… whatever the party decides,” he told IE. Notably, Singh has never been shy of brandishing his religious beliefs and is often seen taking on the BJP on the issue of Hindutva.
A rock and a hard place
As the party awaits a final word from the top leadership, its leaders are aware that the decision is not an easy one to take. The situation became tricky for the party as soon as some of its INDIA partners distanced from the event. The CPI(M) has said that general secretary Sitaram Yechury will not attend, NCP’s Sharad Pawar confirmed he has not received an invitation while Dimple Yadav of the Samajwadi Party said she would attend the ceremony if invited.
Also Read: CPI(M) turns down Ram Temple inauguration invite, BJP says ‘only those called by Lord Ram will come’
Congress ally in Kerala, the IUML, took a more terse stand on the matter and asked the Congress to come clear on the issue. A wavering approach to such matters, it said, was responsible for its electoral decline.
Internally too, Congress leaders appear to be divided over the party’s stand on the issue, particularly fearing a repeat of the rout in Hindi heartland states in the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to IE, a leader said that the party’s stand must be consistent with past positions given the sensitivity of the matter.
Also Read: Sharad Pawar ‘not invited’ to Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya next month
“The BJP is going to completely polarise the Hindi heartland. Therefore, it has to be a very nuanced and correct narrative. We are not handling the issue carefully… We are treating such a sensitive matter in a very casual and cavalier manner… We are treating the issue as if kuchch nahin hai, chalta hai (all is normal, things happen),” the leader said, according to IE.
Another leader the paper spoke to admitted that the party is “not in a happy position”, reflecting the dilemma that the invitation has left it in. ” It is not an easy situation. We are not in a happy situation. We have to be very clear as to what would be the articulation from the Congress… the position clearly explained. Otherwise, we will get hit hard in the heartland,” the leader said, adding that skipping the ceremony would draw charges of the party “boycotting the temple” while attending it could rile some of its important allies.