‘Congress soul is Hindu’: Uddhav Sena says they should attend Ayodhya event

Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhira Ranjan have been invited to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday underlined that the “soul” of the Congress party is Hindu and that the party should attend the Lord Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya if they have received the special invitation, keeping aside the political difference.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party is an ally of Congress in Maha Vikas Aghadi and also a member of the INDIA bloc of opposition parties.

“If Congress has received any special invitation for the Ram temple consecration ceremony then it (the leaders) should go to Ayodhya. What is wrong with it?” the Shiv Sena (UBT) asked in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece Saamana, according to PTI.

It also said: “The Congress’ soul is Hindu. There is nothing to hide in it.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have been invited to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

However, the Congress has not yet clarified its official stance on whether its top leaders will attend the event. Last week, the party said that it would decide about attending the event at an “appropriate time”.

In Wednesday’s editorial, the Shiv Sena (UBT) also said that it is wrong to say that the BJP is the “beholder of Hindutva” as claimed by that party. It pointed out that the Congress has equally contributed to the growth of Hindu culture, it added, reported PTI.

“The Congress never opposed the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was of the opinion that Ram temple should be constructed in Ayodhya. It was on the instructions of Rajiv Gandhi that the famous serial Ramayan was telecast on Doordarshan,” the edit said.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) also took a dig at the BJP, saying the Babri mosque wouldn’t have been brought down if the prime minister at that time was from that party.

PV Narasimha Rao was the prime minister when the structure was razed in December 1992.