Cong leader TS Singh Deo questions timing of Ram Temple opening

NEW DELHI: Questioning the timing of the 'Pran Patishtha' ceremony at the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, close to the next Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader TS Singh Deo on Thursday claimed that the event is not 'purely religious' and has distinct 'political undertones'.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the 'Pran Pratistha' and ceremonial opening of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

Earlier this week, Congress bigwigs--national president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury--turned down the invitation to the Ram Temple opening, labelling it as an event of the BJP and the RSS.

Speaking to ANI on Thursday, the former Chhattisgarh deputy chief Minister claimed that the temple was being inaugurated even before completion, with an eye on the upcoming general elections.

Asserting that no leader in the Opposition has any objection to the opening of the Ram Temple and is respectful of the deity and the public sentiments around him, the Congress leader said, "If this ('Pran Pratishtha) was purely religious then nobody would have had any objection. But this is totally political. Why did they (BJP) have to schedule the ceremonial function on January 22, before the completion of the temple construction? It has all been done with an eye on the (Lok Sabha) elections. Why was the event scheduled for January 22? Why is it being done with the elections around the corner? That is what people have objections to. Nobody objects to Lord Ram."

Meanwhile, on the Congress declining the invitation to the ceremonial 'Pran Patishtha' of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22, the party's Haryana chief Uday Bhan, on Thursday, dismissed allegations of the party boycotting the Ram Janmabhoomi and the Ram temple. However, he added that the Congress objects to the scheduling of the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony and the manner in which it is being conducted by the BJP.

"The Congress isn't boycotting the Ram Janmabhoomi or the Ram Temple. However, we don't agree with how the 'Pran Pratistha' ceremony is being conducted by the BJP," Uday Bhan told ANI.

He added that spiritual leaders across faiths have said holding the 'Pran Pratishtha' event at a time when "40 per cent of the construction work" remains is not right.

"Spiritual leaders across faiths have said 40 per cent of work on the Ram temple is yet to be completed. So, the Pran Pratistha ceremony has been scheduled before the temple is ready to be thrown open to devotees. This is not right," the Congress's Haryana president said.

Bhan said religious leaders told him that it is not right to hold a 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony at a "half-finished temple".

"One of our religious leaders (Shankaracharya Swami Shri Nischalananda Saraswati of Purvaamnaya Govardhanmath Puri Peeth in Odisha), who is an expert on scriptures, said that it is not right to have Pran Pratishtha at a half-finished temple," the Congress leader said.

He claimed the Shankaracharya to have said that the 'Pran Pratishtha' was a 'political move'.

"The Shankaracharya, who is revered by one and all and whose views on religious matters are never questioned, has said there's politics behind the event. I also subscribe to this view," Uday Bhan said.