Congress not attending Ram mandir event, AAP says Kejriwal yet to get invitation

While Kejriwal will make the decision on whether or not to attend the ceremony only after the formal invitation is received, party sources said the call is going to be tricky, especially in light of the Congress decision.

“Several factors are involved. The invitation has not come from a government, but a Trust where members are from the RSS and the VHP. Had it come from the Uttar Pradesh government, it would have been far easier to accept. The second factor is that the Congress, which is an alliance partner, will not be in attendance,” said a party leader.

Kejriwal had in 2019 welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute. “After hearing the arguments of all parties, the five judges of the SC Bench gave an unanimous verdict. We welcome the SC verdict. The decades-old dispute has ended today. I appeal to all to maintain peace and harmony,” he had tweeted.

He also visited Ayodhya in 2021 and performed aarti at Sarayu Ghat. In 2020, he and his family had performed Diwali Pujan at Akshardham Temple, which was telecast live on his social media channels. In 2022, he had joined Christmas celebrations in Punjab. The Delhi government, however, has not held its customary iftar since 2019.

“He has been walking a tight rope on the issue, and trying to ensure he cannot be accused of appeasement by critics. That adds to the complexity,” a party insider said.

The AAP government in Delhi has, meanwhile, been sending pilgrims to Ayodhya since 2021 as part of its Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojna.

According to government data, 4,000 people from Delhi have visited Ayodhya since December 2021 as part of the scheme. The first such train was flagged off by Kejriwal.

Under the scheme, MLAs recommend names of senior citizens for the pilgrimage. Arrangements for travel, board and lodging are made by the government. Each year, an MLA can recommend names of 1,100 people.

According to the government, 84 trains carrying 81,000 people have been sent on pilgrimages since 2018. The destinations include Rameshwaram, Dwarkadhish, Somnath, Nageshwar, Jagannath Puri, Baba Mahakal, Shirdi, Kashi Vishwanath, Tirupati Balaji, Ayodhya, Mata Vaishno Devi, Pushkar, Fatehpur Sikri, Golden Temple in Amritsar, Kartarpur Sahib, Mathura-Vrindavan, and Haridwar.