The ceremony “will be celebrated by about a billion Hindus around the globe,” he said.
“As a Raghuvanshi myself, and having made a modest personal donation of Rs 11 lakh towards the construction, it would have been a great pleasure to attend. Regretfully, nearing 93, it will not be possible for me to do so on medical grounds,” the former Union minister said in a statement.
“However, our family Dharmarth Trust (J&K) is organising a special celebration on this occasion at our famous Sri Raghunath Temple in Jammu, and we are also doing so on a smaller scale at our Shri Ram Mandir on Lodhi Road,” he said.
After the Supreme Court judgment, there should be no hesitation in attending the function, if invited, the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir asserted.
Top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday “respectfully declined” the invitation to attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony, with the party accusing the BJP and the RSS of making it a “political project” for electoral gain. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony. The Ram temple trust has invited 4,000 seers from across the country and 50 guests from foreign countries.
The BJP and the RSS and affiliate Hindutva organisations like the Vishva Hindu Parishad have launched a nationwide mass connect programme in the run-up to the ceremony, urging people to visit the holy place after the consecration ceremony.
