Akhilesh unlikely to attend Ram temple ceremony, says OBCs, Dalits, minorities are his 'gods'

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav was unlikely to attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya on January 22 according to the sources in the SP.

According to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) sources, a VHP functionary had approached him with the invitation to attend the ceremony but Akhilesh did not 'accept' the invitation saying that he did not know the person (VHP functionary).

''We do not accept invitations from those whom we do not know,'' Akhilesh was quoted as having told the VHP functionary.

The Trust had also said that any devotee could pay obeisance at the Ram Temple whether he was invited or not.

Akhilesh had earlier said that he would attend the ceremony if invited by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Khestra Teerth Trust, which was overseeing construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

Akhilesh's wife and SP MP from Mainpuri Dimple Yadav had earlier said that she would be visiting Ayodhya to have darshan at the Ram Temple after January 22.

The SP leader on Tuesday attacked the BJP and said that the saffron party never worked in the interests of the ''pichda, dalit and alpsankhyak'' (PDP). ''Our god is PDP...we will defeat the BJP with their help in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls,'' he said.

Akhilesh has been trying to rally support of the non-Yadav OBC communities, Muslims and dalits for his party in the forthcoming polls. He said that the BJP would not be able to come to power again at the Centre if it lost in Uttar Pradesh, which sent 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.