'Like Nehru did with Somnath Temple': Himanta slams Congress for declining Ayodhya invite

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that the Congress was given an opportunity to "reduce its sin" but with the party declining the invitation to the Ram temple consecration ceremony, history will continue to judge it as "anti-Hindu".

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Sarma claimed that the Congress did not deserve such an invitation in the first place for its views about the Ram temple in Ayodhya since the beginning.

"The @VHPDigital (Vishva Hindu Parishad) had given the Congress party a golden opportunity to reduce its sin by extending their leadership an invitation to attend the Shri Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha Mahotsava," he posted on X.

The @VHPDigital had given the Congress party a golden opportunity to reduce its sin by extending their leadership an invitation to attend the Shri Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha Mahotsava.

Although, in my humble view, they did not deserve such an invitation at the first place for… pic.twitter.com/itexgWdx3I

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 11, 2024

"...although, in my humble view, they did not deserve such an invitation at the first place for their views against the Ram Mandir from the very beginning," he added.

Sarma said that by accepting this invitation, the Congress could have symbolically offered an apology to the "Hindu Samaj" "However, like Pt Nehru did with the Somnath Temple, the Congress leadership did the same with the Ram Temple. History will continue to judge them as an anti-Hindu party," he said.

Along with the post, Sarma shared the statement issued by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, declining the invitation extended to party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikaarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Choudhury.

Ramesh had said that Lord Ram is worshipped by millions, but religion is a personal matter.

"The RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete Temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS have been obviously brought forward for electoral gains," the Congress leader said.

Abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgement and honoring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, the three leaders have "respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event", he said.