Ayodhya visit on 'Makar Sankranti' by UP Congress workers still on, says state party chief

Lucknow: While the Congress top brass has declined the invitation to the January 22 consecration ceremony at Ayodhya's Ram temple, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit plans to go ahead with its own event a week earlier in the holy town.

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said on Sunday, "On January 15, I am going to Ayodhya. Our general secretary and UP in-charge Avinash Pande and senior leaders Pramod Tiwari and P L Punia will also visit Ayodhya. In all, around 100 Congressmen will go there." On Wednesday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party president Sonia Gandhi and leader of the party in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury turned down the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony.

The Congress leadership "respectfully declined" the invitation to attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony, while accusing the BJP of making it into a "political project" for electoral gains and asserting that religion is a "personal matter".

Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh had questioned the motive behind the inauguration of the "incomplete" temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS.

However, Rai said on Thursday that he along with AICC in-charge Avinash Pande will go ahead with their programme of visiting the temple town on 'Makar Sankranti'.

"There is no change in the programme. The Congressmen from the state including me will go to Ayodhya as per our scheduled programme," Rai told PTI over the phone.

"The January 22 programme related to the consecration ceremony is different. We are going on 'Makar Sankranti'," the UPCC president said when asked about the party leaders declining the invitation for the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony.

The UP Congress' visit was seen as a balancing act by the party as it sought to dissociate from the official consecration ceremony but wanted to indicate that its members too rever Lord Ram.

Rai had announced that around 100 Congress office-bearers from Uttar Pradesh, including Pande, will visit Ayodhya on 'Makar Sankranti'.

During their visit to the holy city, the Congress leaders will take a dip in the Saryu river and then visit the Ram temple and Hanumangarhi temple, a senior party leader said.

Giving details about his plan, Rai said on Sunday, "A decision has been taken to visit Ayodhya on January 15. At 9.13 am, the Sun will become 'Uttarayan' (northward movement of the Sun), and at 9.15 am, we will depart for Ayodhya chanting 'Jai Siya Ram' after observing the tradition of breaking coconut." He further said the Congress office-bearers will take a dip in Saryu after reaching Ayodhya, and visit the Ram temple and Hanuman Garhi.