Congress leaders in Kerala opposed to attending Ayodhya Ram temple event: K. Muraleedharan

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee has informed All India Congress Committee that it is opposed to party leaders attending Ram Temple inauguration at Ayodhya on January 22, says K. Muraleedharan, MP

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has informed the All India Congress Committee (AICC) that it is opposed to party leaders attending the Ram temple inauguration at Ayodhya on January 22, 2024, K. Muraleedharan, MP, has said.

Speaking to the media here on December 28 (Thursday), Mr. Muraleedharan said the party was yet to take a stand at the national level and there was still time to think about it.

“The Samajwadi Party, which is leading the INDIA alliance in Uttar Pradesh that contributes the highest number of MPs to Lok Sabha, has said that it would attend the event. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena too has decided to be part of it. The national leadership of the Congress will take an appropriate decision after discussing the matter within the party and among the INDIA alliance partners,” Mr. Muraleedharan said.

The Congress MP, however, said that the Kerala unit of the party had already informed AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal that it was opposed to party leaders attending the event.

“Temple consecration is a religious matter. It is not the duty of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dedicate it to the nation. He is a leader of our country that has many temples, mosques and churches. The inauguration should be done by the temple trustees and priests,” Mr. Muraleedharan said.

His comments come against the backdrop of several Congress leaders in Kerala refusing to comment on the issue. Suprabatham, the mouthpiece of the influential Sunni scholars’ forum Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama, had criticised the party for pursuing a “soft Hindutva” line.

Earlier in the day, opening the foundation day celebrations of the Congress, Mr. Muraleedharan said that Mr. Modi opening the temple was against Hindu religious traditions. “This is a trap laid by the BJP. We need not fall into it. Some people may vote for Mr. Modi because of the temple constructed in Ayodhya, and they will anyway not vote for the Congress,” Mr. Muraleedharan added.