Ayodhya is set to welcome devotees and VVIPs from all over the world on Monday as the much-awaited consecration ceremony will finally be held at the Ram Mandir in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While the country has been waiting anxiously for January 22, the reactions of several BJP opponents will be worth noting, given that many parties refused to attend the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla’s idol after the Congress said it will not be attending the inauguration. Analysts are saying the Grand Old Party may have committed a blunder going into the Lok Sabha elections.
Here’s a list of all invitees attending the pran pratishtha at the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya:
PM Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to deliver a speech at the grand event. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister is an invitee by default as he is overseeing the preparations for the long-awaited inauguration.
JP Nadda: VHP chief Alok Kumar said the VHP has invited the BJP president, same as the presidents of all other parties.
LK Advani: The VHP said BJP stalwart LK Advani, who was at the forefront of the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement in the 1980s and early 1990s, will be attending the ‘pran pratishtha’ at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. “Advani ji has said he will come. If required, we will make special arrangements for him,” said VHP president Alok Kumar. The 96-year-old is one of the founding members of the BJP.
Eknath Shinde: The RSS and the VHP has also extended an invite to the Maharashtra CM to attend the ceremony. Shinde has accepted the invitation and expressed joy at the dreams of Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray and the former’s mentor Anand Dighe coming true in the form of a grand temple in Ayodhya.
Vikramaditya Singh: The Himachal Pradesh minister and Congress leader said he will be attending the ceremony. Singh, who is the son of former CM Virbhadra Singh and state party chief Pratibha Singh, had also thanked the RSS and the VHP for the invitation.
Industrialists: Gautam Adani, Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, N Chandrasekaran, Anil Agarwal, and NR Narayana Murthy.
Sports personalities: Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Deepika Kumari.
Film industry: Mohanlal, Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Madhuri Dixit, Chiranjeevi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Akshay Kumar, Dhanush, Randeep Hooda, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Kangana Ranaut, Rishab Shetty, Madhur Bhandarkar, Ajay Devgn, Jackie Shroff, Tiger Shroff, Yash, Prabhas, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Sunny Deol.
Who will not be attending?
A number of political parties, which are part of the opposition INDIA bloc, have rejected an invitation to the ceremony stating that politics and religion should not be mixed.
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were invited but “respectfully declined”, accusing the BJP of making the ceremony into a “political project” for electoral gains and asserting that religion is a “personal matter”. Senior party leader Rahul Gandhi also said the event has been made a “Narendra Modi and RSS-BJP function” with an “election flavour”.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had 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.
Trinamool Congress boss 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. The West Bengal chief minister 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 he will visit the temple, along with his family, after the inauguration event.
AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said he will go to Ayodhya with his family after the January 22 ceremony and pay obeisance to Ram Lalla, while NCP chief Sharad Pawar, too, declined to attend the ceremony and said he will visit Ayodhya to offer prayers after the completion of the temple construction.
(With PTI inputs)
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