NEW DELHI: A new twist emerged on Tuesday to the invitee list for the opening of Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad stating that BJP veterans L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were invited for the inauguration.
The statement came a day after Ram temple trust informed the media that the veterans were requested not to attend owing to their age and the biting cold, which drew criticism from many quarters that the senior leaders, who once led the party and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, were being sidelined.
Alok Kumar, international working president of VHP, said Advani (96) and Joshi (89) had been invited to attend the consecration on January 22. Earlier, Ram temple trust secretary Champat Rai had said both were “elders of the family and considering their age, they were requested not to come”, which they accepted.
Issuing a statement, Kumar said, “Invited respected Lal Krishna Advani ji and respected Murli Manohar Joshi ji, the pioneers of Ram mandir movement, to attend the ‘pran pratishthan’ programme of Ram mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. Both the seniors said they will make every effort to come.”
Advani and Joshi were in the vanguard of the temple movement. Advani, a former deputy PM, led a Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya before he was arrested in Bihar in 1990. It passed through hundreds of cities and travelled approximately 300 km a day to rally support for the Janmabhoomi movement, led by the VHP and its affiliates in the Sangh Parivar.
Rai said among veteran politicians, former PM H D Deve Gowda, 90, was invited.
The statement came a day after Ram temple trust informed the media that the veterans were requested not to attend owing to their age and the biting cold, which drew criticism from many quarters that the senior leaders, who once led the party and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, were being sidelined.
Alok Kumar, international working president of VHP, said Advani (96) and Joshi (89) had been invited to attend the consecration on January 22. Earlier, Ram temple trust secretary Champat Rai had said both were “elders of the family and considering their age, they were requested not to come”, which they accepted.
Issuing a statement, Kumar said, “Invited respected Lal Krishna Advani ji and respected Murli Manohar Joshi ji, the pioneers of Ram mandir movement, to attend the ‘pran pratishthan’ programme of Ram mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. Both the seniors said they will make every effort to come.”
Advani and Joshi were in the vanguard of the temple movement. Advani, a former deputy PM, led a Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya before he was arrested in Bihar in 1990. It passed through hundreds of cities and travelled approximately 300 km a day to rally support for the Janmabhoomi movement, led by the VHP and its affiliates in the Sangh Parivar.
Rai said among veteran politicians, former PM H D Deve Gowda, 90, was invited.