Different voices emerge in Congress despite party’s ‘no’ to Ram Temple pran pratistha - The Hindu
The HinduThe Congress’ public articulation on the invitation to attend the pran pratistha of Lord Ram’s idol at the newly built temple in Ayodhya nearly 12 days before the event was as much meant to frame a position for its own leaders as it was to convey its decision. While declining the invitation through a statement, issued by communication chief Jairam Ramesh, the party made the following points: the temple project was a long-standing “political project” of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; an “incomplete” temple is being inaugurated for electoral gains; Lord Ram was worshipped by millions but religion was a personal matter. From claiming credit for opening the locks at the disputed site by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1986 to promising a new temple at Ayodhya without disturbing the existing Babri Masjid in its 1991 Lok Sabha manifesto to the Narasimha Rao government assuring the Muslim community to build a new mosque post Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, the Congress and its leaders have been shifting their positions. On November 9, 2019, the Congress Working Committee stated that it respected the Supreme Court verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute, but when Randeep Surjewala, then the party’s chief spokesperson, was asked if the party favoured the construction of the Ram Mandir, the answer was a categorical “yes”.