BJP Accuses Congress of Appeasement, Labels it "Nehru's Party" Amidst Ayodhya Temple Event Controversy

New Delhi, January 11, 2024: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a scathing attack on the Congress on Thursday, criticizing its refusal to participate in the upcoming January 22 Ram Temple event in Ayodhya. The BJP alleged that the Congress declined the invitation for the "sake of appeasement" and asserted that the current Congress, in the words of BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi, is "Nehru's party, not Gandhi's."

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi accused the Congress of consistently opposing Hindu beliefs for the sake of appeasement. He remarked, "For the sake of appeasement, the Congress party is continuously opposing Hindu beliefs. Whenever the issue of Ram Temple has been raised in the last 2-4 decades, they have always opposed it."

Karnataka BJP leader CT Ravi drew historical parallels, claiming that Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, had refused to visit the ancient Somnath Temple in Gujarat. Ravi argued, "Congress has always been against Hindutva... So how can the present leadership of the Congress go to Ayodhya."

Sudhanshu Trivedi emphasized, "This is Nehru's Congress, this is not Gandhi's Congress. Mahatma Gandhi used to sing 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram,' and today Congress is not attending the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony. This shows Congress is against the Hindu religion and Hindutva."

The Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, were invited to the consecration ceremony but declined, citing BJP and RSS attempts to gain electoral advantage from the event.

Responding to the accusations, Karnataka CM and Congress leader Siddaramaiah clarified, "We all follow Lord Ram, and we visit Ram Temples in our villages. But they are making politics out of it, and we are opposing politics."

This controversy surrounding the Ayodhya Temple event echoes similar sentiments expressed in 2019 when the Supreme Court of India ruled in favor of building the Ram Temple on the disputed site, also mandating the allocation of a separate parcel of land for the construction of a mosque. The Congress, along with other political figures, continues to navigate the delicate intersection of religion and politics in the Indian context.