Opposition welcome to Ram Temple, Congress declined invitation out of arrogance: VHP leader Alok Kumar

New Delhi: It is regretful that the Congress declined the invitation to the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya out of arrogance, VHP working president Alok Kumar said on Thursday and asserted that opposition leaders are welcome to visit the Ram Temple whenever they like.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event to release the book 'Rom Rom me Ram', a collection of essays by senior journalist and former MP Ashwini Chopra, who died four years ago, and others, Kumar expressed regret that the Congress leaders declined the invitation to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple.

"Everyone is welcome to Ram Temple. Delhi CM (Arvind Kejriwal) has said he will visit the temple with his family later. We welcome him and his family. Akhilesh Yadav and Sharad Pawar are welcome to the temple whenever they like," Kumar said.

"The Congress declined the invitation out of arrogance. We regret that," he said.

Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's charge that the event has been given an 'election flavour', Kumar said, 'Rahul Gandhi was asked if he will visit the temple during his Yatra in Uttar Pradesh and he didn't say yes. He was asked if he would go to the nearby temple on January 22, but he didn't say yes."

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad working president also compared the January 22 consecration event with Independence Day and said it will mark the 'end of colonial mindset'.

"Ram temple has been completed, it is Ram Rajya now," he said.

Top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury recently 'respectfully declined' the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, with the party accusing the BJP of making it into a 'political project' for electoral gains and asserting that religion is a 'personal matter'.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the Ram temple consecration event in Ayodhya has been made into a 'Narendra Modi and RSS-BJP function' with an 'election flavour', as he strongly defended the decision of his party's top leaders to decline the invite to the ceremony.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has also declined an invitation, with the Left party saying religion is a personal choice and should not be converted into an instrument for political gain.

TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of indulging in a 'gimmick show' through the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. She has announced that she will lead a 'rally for harmony' with people of all religions in Kolkata on January 22.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has said, 'Religion cannot be a part of politics', and accused the BJP of hiding behind religion. The SP leader has said that he would visit the temple, along with his family, after the inauguration event.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said he will go to Ayodhya with his family after the January 22 Ram temple consecration ceremony and pay obeisance to Ram Lalla. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar too has declined to attend the consecration ceremony and said he would visit Ayodhya to offer prayers to Lord Ram after the completion of the temple construction there.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony. The temple trust has also invited 4,000 seers from across the country and 50 guests from foreign countries.