Kerala BJP urges clarity from Congress leaders on Ram Temple consecration ceremony invitation

Thrissur: The BJP in Kerala urged the state unit of the Congress party on Thursday to clarify whether its leaders would participate in the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

Slamming the grand old party for not yet announcing a final decision on its participation, BJP state chief K Surendran urged them to give the people of the state a clear answer.

While addressing a gathering, he also questioned whether the Congress was going to succumb to the threats posed by the Left parties and community leaders on this matter.

"The BJP wants to ask a simple question: Is the Congress going to yield to the threats raised by the Marxist party, Left Front partners, community leaders, and so on in this issue?" Surendran asked.

The statements by the state BJP chief came hours after the top leaders of the Congress's Kerala state unit aired differing views on the political stance to be taken regarding the invitation to its national leadership to attend the Ayodhya Ram temple consecration ceremony.

While senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP K Muraleedharan said the party's state unit has urged the national leadership not to participate in the ceremony, KPCC chief K Sudhakaran said he was unaware of the state unit conveying its position to the national leadership on the matter.

Congress leaders made the statements a day after Samastha, a prominent Muslim Sunni clerical body in Kerala, criticised the party for being indecisive about attending the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple.

The editorial in 'Suprabhatham', the mouthpiece of Samastha, accused the Congress of having a soft-Hindutva stance.

The Congress has not revealed whether its key leaders, including President Mallikarjun Kharge, former chief Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, will attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

Despite receiving invitations, the party has not disclosed its stance on the matter but expressed gratitude for the invitations.