The Congress respects all religions and is not an “atheist” party, spokesperson Kanhaiya Kumar said on January 15.
On the sidelines of a press conference on Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, when Mr Kumar was asked about the Congress leadership’s response to the invitation to attend the January 22 consecration ceremony at Ayodhya, he said people go when God calls them.
“Is it a wedding that an invite is needed? Who are they to invite? When the god calls people, they go. We are bhakts [devotees]. God is about personal faith and not a matter of display,” Mr Kumar said.
The opposition party also alleged that the January 22 event is being held in a hurry because of the Lok Sabha polls and it was a “political event”.
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“We will go to the temple, why won’t we go? You will see that during this [Bharat Jodo Nyay] yatra itself, we will go to many temples. We will go to temples, gurdwaras, churches, mosques. The Congress is not an atheist party that it will oppose a mandir or any religious programme. It is a party of all religions and people from all religions,” Mr Kumar stressed.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had “respectfully declined” the invitation to attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony and described it as a BJP-RSS event.
“Everyone knows why are they [BJP-RSS] doing it. Anyone will tell you that this is being done in a hurry because of the election,” Mr Kumar alleged.
