"Congress worship Sonia, not temple": BJP leader

Surat (Gujarat) [India], January 1 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh's Minister of State for Labour and BJP leader Raghuraj Singh on Monday took a jibe at the grand old party over its indecisiveness in attending the Ram temple consecration ceremony, saying Congress worships Sonia, not the temple.
"They (Congress) had opposed it earlier as well, they had said that Lord Ram has no existence. We have invited everyone, but they are not ready to call themselves Hindus. They don't know the meaning of Hindu. They don't go to the temple because they worship Sonia Gandhi," Raghuraj Singh told ANI.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while speaking on the consecration ceremony, said, "After many years of struggle, the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple will be held on January 22. From today on, Ram devotees are going door-to-door and giving invitations. Everyone should not go there on January 22. After the inauguration, people can go there following the guidelines of the UP government and the temple committee."
Prominent personalities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will attend the consecration ceremony of the Grand Ram Temple on January 22.
Meanwhile, when asked about those who are not going to attend the consecration ceremony, Pradhan said, "Unko Hanumanji le aayenge."
CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury announced in a post on X that he will not be attending the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. He alleged that the Bhartiya Janata party is using the Ram temple for 'political gain'.
"The CPI (M) policy has been to respect religious beliefs and safeguard the right of every individual to pursue their beliefs. Religion is a personal choice, not to be converted into an instrument for political gain. This is a state-sponsored function in the presence of the PM and UP CM," he said in a post on X.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said that his party workers are not going to attend the Ayodhya Ram Mandir opening ceremony.
Taking a jibe at the Union government, the UBT Sena Rajya Sabha MP said, "They have an advertising system according to which they work. They are extremely good at advertising things. The Ayodhya Ram Mandir opening ceremony is a way to distract people in the country from real issues like unemployment, inflation, Kashmir, and Manipur."
"This is all politics; who wants to attend an event by the BJP? This is not a national event. This is the BJP's programme; this is the BJP's rally. 'Usme pavitrata kahan hai?'... We will visit Ayodhya after the BJP's programme is over," the UBT Sena MP added.
However, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have accepted the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple.
Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh's Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, has made it clear that he will attend the ceremony, regardless of whether he receives an invitation or not.
"If the invitation comes or not, we shall go there; there is no second thought about attending the ceremony," CM Sukhu told ANI. (ANI)