Not surprised by Cong not attending Ram Temple inauguration: K’taka BJP chief Vijayendra

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday said he was not surprised by the Congress party’s decision to decline the invitation to attend the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Reacting to the Congress’s decision, Vijayendra said the party was against the Ram temple from day one.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury today ”respectfully declined” the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony with the party accusing the BJP and the RSS of making it into a ”political project” for electoral gain.

”The BJP is not surprised by the decision of the Congress. Their intention was very clear from day one. When Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, the next day BJP ruled state governments were dismissed by the then Congress government. On every occasion, the grand old party has proved that they are against the Rama Janmabhoomi movement,” Vijayendra told reporters here.

Alleging that the Congress never believed in Bhagwan Ramachandra, he even expressed his apprehension that the state government may withdraw its decision to conduct special prayers in temples under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Endowment Department on January 22.

The consecration ceremony will be held on January 22 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend it.

The temple trust has also invited 4,000 seers from across the country and 50 guests from foreign countries.

”Their mindset is very clear. In spite of getting the invitation for the inauguration of Ram temple, the rejection by the Congress party and their reluctance to attend the auspicious event, clearly shows that they are upset with the way things are going on, especially after the outcome of the election results in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh,” Vijayendra said.

He said Congress and the INDIA bloc are totally upset as they have realised that they are not going to come to power at the Centre.

”They have also realised that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are going to create history by coming back to power for the third consecutive term,” he added.