Many opposition leaders are likely to give a skip to the invite for the Ram temple consecration ceremony on January 22 but have said that they could visit the temple in the coming days.
Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad, and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray have turned down the invitations for January 22 consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.
So, with religion taking the centrestage in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the opposition cannot totally ignore the grand event in Ayodhya and has planned their own programs and will visit temples as part of it.
Mamata Banerjee plans to visit the Kalighat temple near Kolkata on January 22 which will be followed by a “communal harmony rally”. It will include people from all religions and will also cover mosques, temples, churches and gurudwaras on its way.
Similarly, Uddhav Thackeray and his party leaders are scheduled to visit Kalaram Temple in Nashik on January 22, followed by a political rally of his party.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, carrying out the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, from east to west of the country is likely to visit a temple in Assam on the same day.AAP convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced plans to organise religious programmes in the national capital.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik who prefers to maintain equal distance from both ruling and opposition side inaugurated the Heritage corridor at Puri’s Jagannath temple, to counter the BJP’s religious ploy ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
