Ayodhya Ram temple: Sharad Pawar says he has not been invited to attend the inauguration ceremony

The President of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Sharad Pawar, said on Wednesday, that he has not been invited to the inauguration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya scheduled for January 22. In addition, he targeted the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and said it is difficult to understand whether the BJP is using this issue for political or commercial purposes.

“Don’t know if it (BJP) is using the issue for political or commercial purposes. We are happy that the temple is coming up for which many have contributed,” Pawar said, as per the news agency PTI report.

When Pawar was asked if he was invited, he replied, “I visit two-three places of faith that I don’t speak about in public. It’s a private matter.”

Previously, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, also said he had not been invited to the Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration. “Was interrogated by the waiting press, wanting to know if I would be going to Ayodhya on January 22. I told them I hadn’t been invited but I saw religion as a personal attribute and not one for political (mis)use, he said. 

“I also pointed out that by making such a major news story of the event, which has been known about for some time already, the media was playing into the hands of those who want to milk political benefit from the Ram Mandir while distracting the public from their governance failures. Temples are not the government’s business; unemployment, inflation, public welfare and national security are. But the media allows the temple to turn the focus away from those issues!,” he added. 

He even posted about the same on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Personally, I believe religious faith is a personal matter and should not be seen politically, or misused politically. I hope each of the invitees is left free to make a personal choice, rather than be described as "anti-Hindu" if they don't go or "playing into the BJP's hands" if they do attend. I said this to media outside @INCKerala headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram this morning. 

“Speaking for myself as a Hindu, I see a temple as place to connect with the divine rather than a stage for political theatre. I would love to visit the Ram temple one day, but not during a grand political extravaganza like the inauguration and not before the elections, so that no political statement is read into my going,” he concluded. 

The inauguration of the Ram temple is scheduled for January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend the “Pran Pratistha”, or the consecration ceremony of the Ram Lalla idol.