Friends in Congress say party’s decision to stay away from Ram temple opening counter-productive: Puri

“Aapko jaana ya nahi jaana, mat jayiye, [don’t attend if you don’t want to] but if you make such statements, I think there are repercussions from those statements. I personally believe that any system based on faith, belief, you should not make statements like this at any stage,” he said.

Commenting on the reported differences of opinion within the Congress on the issue, he said it appeared the party was a divided house.

“The problem is different this time. The problem is to ensure that the (idol) consecration on January 22 is done in a limited way because there are so many people wanting to go there. I have come across stories when I go anywhere. People in the deep south want to go on trains. Those trains are going to run in a proper way, but after that [Jan 22]. You don’t know the depth and the intensity of this emotion… I have a lot of friends in the Congress who tell me that this is the most counter-productive decision that a lack-lustre leadership has taken in a long time,” Puri said.

The Congress on Wednesday announced that party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and leader of the party in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had declined the invitation to what it termed was an “RSS/BJP event”.

“The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain,” the Congress said in a statement.