"Invitation must come from Ram temple committee": Himachal CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh[India], January 1(ANI): Amid the controversy over the invitations, Himachal Pradesh CM and Congress leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the invitation has to come from the Ram temple committee.
"It is a different thing to receive an invitation from Vishva Hindu Parishad. They(VHP) have set up buses and other things everywhere", said Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
"We have complete faith in Lord Ram. We will definitely go there. Even today, we follow in Lord Ram's footsteps. It is not right to give Ram mandir a political colour. We must follow the ideals of Lord Ram in our lives", Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu further added.
Earlier, National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah emphasised that "Lord Rama doesn't only belong to Hindus. He belongs to everyone in the world."
"He is the Lord for all the people across the world. It's written in the books," he added.
"Do they hold a copyright on Lord Ram?", said Congress leader Udit Raj.
"When the questions are raised if RSS or BJP is inviting Opposition leaders, they say they are not. They are saying that the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust is sending out invites for the event. Whose trust is this? Does it have nothing to do with the BJP?"
On the promise of the BJP-led Centre to take India to being the third-largest economy in the world if elected for a third consecutive time, Udit Raj said the country would soon be comparable with the backward nations of Africa.
"India will soon be downgraded to an underdeveloped country, mark my words. Only the personal net worth of some capitalists will grow by leaps and bounds. However, the per capita income of the people will decrease and we will draw comparisons with the backward countries of Africa," he added.
Apart from political and religious leaders, Bollywood actors, including Amitabh Bachchan, have been invited to the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Simultaneously, the Prime Minister urged all pilgrimage sites and temples in the country to launch cleanliness campaigns from January 14 to January 22. He emphasized that Lord Ram belongs to the entire nation and asked that there be no litter around any of our temples or pilgrimage sites when he arrives.
As per temple officials, the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya's Ram Mandir will be held over seven days, starting on January 16. On the final day, January 22, after the morning puja, the deity of Ram Lala will be consecrated in 'Mrigashira Nakshatra' in the afternoon. (ANI)