"BJPfication of Pran Pratishtha being done": Congress slams BJP for roping in VHP to amplify Ram temple event

New Delhi [India], January 11 : Congress MP Digvijaya Singh on Thursday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for roping in Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) with the invitations and celebrations of the Ayodhya ceremony and said that "BJPfication" of Pran Pratishtha is being done.
While speaking to ANI, Digvijaya Singh said, "BJPfication of this (pranpratishtha) is being done. Full control has been given to the people of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). We have an objection. What has VHP got to do with the Ram Temple construction? Do we have a problem visiting the Ram Temple? We will go there happily. But let it complete first."
The Congress leader also objected to the under-construction of the Ram Temple and alleged that the ceremony was taking place in a crooked attempt to benefit by making this an election issue.
"Forget the invitation. What we are objecting to is that the construction of Ram Temple is not complete. When the construction is not complete, what is the 'pranpratishtha' about? This is against the holy scriptures and religion. This is a crooked attempt to benefit by making this an election issue," he told ANI.
Reacting to the grand old Congress party's decline to the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony invitations of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, Digvijaya Singh said that the ruling party had turned the event into a BJP and VHP event.
"How many invitees have accepted the invitation? No established religious leader has accepted the invitation. They have raised an objection. As per religious scriptures, no 'pranpratishtha' of any idol can be done at a temple. The construction is incomplete, and it is considered ominous," he said.
"Not just Congress but all political parties that have received the invitations--Shiv Sena, RJD, JD(U), TMC, CPI, CPI(M) - who is attending it? Shiv Sena, who led the Babri Masjid demolition, has declined too. Lord Ram belongs to everyone. We would be delighted to visit the temple but let the construction finish first. They have turned this into a BJP and VHP event," added the Congress leader.
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury "respectfully" declined the invitation extended by Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Trust to attend the 'Pran Prathista' ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22, months before the country heads to the polls.
The Congress described the inauguration of an "incomplete" temple as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ploy for electoral gain.
On Wednesday, the Congress, in its rejection of the Ram Mandir invite, framed it so that the inauguration was a "BJP-RSS political event," keeping in mind the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP government's overlap in the events leading up to the consecration of Ram Mandir is also evident, with the invitations and celebrations being managed by the VHP and the RSS.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday also came down heavily on Congress, saying that the top brass of the grand old party has declined the invitation to attend the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya only for the "sake of appeasement.
"Pralhad Joshi, while speaking to ANI said that the Congress Party has reached the 'heights of appeasement'.
This comes after the Congress dubbed the Ram temple consecration ceremony as a "BJP/RSS event."
Dubbing the ceremony as a "BJP/RSS event," Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury would skip the ceremony scheduled to be held on January 22.