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As the ruling BJP and the Sangh Parivar step up their preparations for the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22, the Uttar Pradesh Congress finds itself in a spot – at a time when the party has been trying to revive itself in the state.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is yet to spell out its stand on the invitations extended by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to its three top leaders – Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and party’s leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury – for the January 22 event.
The UP Congress has been making an outreach to its old support base encompassing communities like Brahmins that make up about 12 % of the state’s population. As part of this exercise, the party seems to be indulging in “soft Hindutva” while also seeking to do a balancing act.
On December 20, UP Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Ajay Rai launched the party’s UP Jodo Yatra from Maa Shakambri Devi temple in Saharanpur, where he first offered prayers before embarking on his march. Rai later also met Muslim clerics among others when the Yatra passed through Deoband.
Rai had planned to end the first phase of the Yatra at the famous Hindu pilgrimage site in Sitapur’s Naimisharanya, but eventually it concluded on January 6 in Lucknow’s Shaeed Smarak, where AICC general secretary in charge of UP Avinash Pande was also present.
Before visiting Shaheed Smarak, Pande, who was on his first visit to UP after being assigned its charge by Kharge recently, offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Lucknow. He later visited the UPCC headquarters and held meetings with the state party leaders.
The next day, Pande announced that he along with a slew of party leaders – including Rai, P L Punia, Pramod Tiwari, Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhna Mishra, former UPCC chiefs Ajay Kumar Lallu and Brij Lal Khabri, among others – will visit Ayodhya on January 15 for darshan and prayers at the existing Ram Lalla Temple there.
Pande told media persons that while he had planned to visit the Ayodhya Temple earlier, several veteran leaders during the party meeting also expressed their willingness to join him, leading to their decision to finalise a new schedule.
UPCC sources said over 100 party leaders have expressed their willingness to visit Ayodhya on January 15 and offer their prayers to Ram Lalla “virajman” at the existing makeshift Temple.
In an oblique swipe at the BJP, Pande claimed that while the Congress was doing “astha ka samman” (respect of faith), “some are doing politicisation of astha”.
Rai, who is a known face among the priests of Varanasi, said there was nothing new about the Congress leaders visiting temples as they have been doing it in the past as well.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the UPCC chief said, “We have been offering prayers to Lord Ram in the past and would offer prayers to Ram Lalla at the makeshift temple on January 15, which will mark Makar Sankranti, an auspicious day.”
Rai even questioned the need for installing a new idol at the newly built Temple, when prayers have been offered to the Ram Lalla “virajman” for decades.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former MP from Faizabad, Nirmal Khatri, has also received invite for the consecration ceremony, sources said, adding that it is not yet clear whether he would attend the event or not.
Reflecting the state Congress’s dilemma, a senior party leader said, “It is all very confusing for us. We do not know what to do and so we are taking a middle path,” adding that “We would be offering prayers to Ram Lalla’s existing idol, while our stand on the consecration ceremony of the new idol is yet to be decided by the party leadership.”
