MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had not been invited for the Ram Mandir’s inauguration on January 22 and claimed BJP would not invite Uddhav “for the same reasons they had not invited BJP leader L K Advani.” Raut alleged those who had contributed to the Ram Mandir struggle were not invited but those who had nothing to do with it were celebrating and this was their event.
However, the Ram Mandir trust functionaries said the trust is likely to invite leaders of all recognised political parties and so Uddhav and CM Eknath Shinde will be given an invitation over the next few days.
“Those who in the temple of democracy that is Parliament suspended so many MPs, do they have the moral right to inaugurate the Ram Mandir? The kar sevaks have been sacrificed, so those who have killed democracy have no right to celebrate this inauguration of the Ram Mandir. Lord Ram was democratic and welfare-oriented,” Raut said.
The Ram Mandir trust has invited Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi for the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya on January 22.
Sources said Ram Mandir Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Mishra met Kharge on Tuesday and extended the invite. He is also learnt to have personally delivered the invite to Sonia Gandhi.
“It is good that they have invited Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. They won’t invite Uddhav Thackeray… They have sacrificed, Uddhav Thackeray, Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi… Those who have any contribution to the Ram Mandir struggle, those people won’t be allowed inside Ayodhya’s borders,” Raut alleged.
The trust is inviting political leaders across the political spectrum. Many state units of the Congress, like the one in Punjab, have already announced they will send pilgrims to Ayodhya in buses.
The temple trust had said on Monday that Advani and Joshi were unlikely to attend the consecration ceremony due to their health and age. But on Tuesday, the VHP stated Advani and Joshi were invited for the grand inauguration. The Ayodhya issue is set to emerge as a major factor ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
However, the Ram Mandir trust functionaries said the trust is likely to invite leaders of all recognised political parties and so Uddhav and CM Eknath Shinde will be given an invitation over the next few days.
“Those who in the temple of democracy that is Parliament suspended so many MPs, do they have the moral right to inaugurate the Ram Mandir? The kar sevaks have been sacrificed, so those who have killed democracy have no right to celebrate this inauguration of the Ram Mandir. Lord Ram was democratic and welfare-oriented,” Raut said.
The Ram Mandir trust has invited Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi for the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya on January 22.
Sources said Ram Mandir Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Mishra met Kharge on Tuesday and extended the invite. He is also learnt to have personally delivered the invite to Sonia Gandhi.
“It is good that they have invited Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. They won’t invite Uddhav Thackeray… They have sacrificed, Uddhav Thackeray, Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi… Those who have any contribution to the Ram Mandir struggle, those people won’t be allowed inside Ayodhya’s borders,” Raut alleged.
The trust is inviting political leaders across the political spectrum. Many state units of the Congress, like the one in Punjab, have already announced they will send pilgrims to Ayodhya in buses.
The temple trust had said on Monday that Advani and Joshi were unlikely to attend the consecration ceremony due to their health and age. But on Tuesday, the VHP stated Advani and Joshi were invited for the grand inauguration. The Ayodhya issue is set to emerge as a major factor ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.