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With just weeks left for the consecration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya, reports arrived that there is no decision yet on Sonia Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge attending the ceremony, news agency PTI reported, quoting sources.
The consecration ceremony is to be held on January 22, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bollywood actors Madhuri Dixit and Amitabh Bachchan, among others. The ceremony will witness the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the temple.
The Congress party on December 29 said it would decide at an 'appropriate time' whether the two senior leaders will attend the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh confirmed that Gandhi and Kharge have been invited to the ceremony.
"Chairman Congress Parliamentary Party Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge have been invited to the inauguration of the Ram Temple. A decision will be taken at an appropriate time, and communicated at an appropriate time," he said.
Meanwhile, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor stated on Thursday that he was yet to receive a formal invite to attend the Ram Temple consecration.
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“As far as I am concerned, I have not been invited, so I don't have to make the decision," he had said.
Though he expressed his desire to visit the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, he added that he would visit the shrine in Uttar Pradesh “after the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections".
Tharoor also said his visit to the Ram Temple should not be interpreted politically. A day before, Shashi Tharoor said that for him religion is a personal attribute and not the government's business.
He added that the Opposition leaders should not be branded 'anti-Hindu' if they don't attend the consecration ceremony and neither should they be seen to be "playing into BJP hands" if they do.
With agency inputs.
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