ON TUESDAY, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Sonia Gandhi received invitations from delegates on behalf of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust of Pran Pratishtha or Ram Temple dedication ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22.
Invitations were also extended to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he did not entertain guests due to illness.
Sources said Nripendra Misra, Chairman, Ram Mandir Construction Committee, and former member of the Trust, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Sampark Pramukh Ram Lal and VHP International President Alok Kumar met Gandhi and Kharge and invited them to the function.
Sources in the Congress said that both of them will not be able to attend. It is learned that Misra had applied for an appointment with Singh but the Prime Minister’s Office refused the appointment on the grounds of insecurity.
The delegation also met former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and former President Ram Nath Kovind, inviting them to the event. Sources said a call to former President Pratibha Patil was also sent. Besides, leaders of all political parties have also been invited. The interesting thing is that the chief ministers and governors are not invited.
Sources said that each country will be given designated days to visit the temple after the dedication ceremony, and some special items for the ship may be made. The CMs have also been invited to join volunteers from their respective districts, and special arrangements have been made to receive them, he said.
Invitations are being sent to CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI colleague D Raja, BSP chief Mayawati and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, sources said.
Massive preparations are underway in Ayodhya for the dedication ceremony after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed a gathering of around 8,000 people.
Champat Rai, Secretary of the trust, said on Monday that the guest list for the Pran Pratishtha event has been “prepared carefully”. It includes industrialists, scientists, actors, military officers in Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards among others. The guest list includes Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, industrialist Gautam Adani of Adani Group, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance, actors Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Arun Govil, who played Ram in the series of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan TV. , film director Madhur Bhandarkar, singer Prasoon Joshi among others.
According to the impromptu plan, the dedication will lead to a series of well-known rituals that last several days, including bathing the deity in the Sarayu river and taking the deity to all the major temples in Ayodhya for dev darshan.
The trust has also invited many workers who were involved in the construction of the temple such as Natarajan Chandrasekaran of the Tata Group and SN Subrahmanyan of the L&T Group.
“Invitation letters have been sent to the leaders of all political parties and former ministers of this country. Those who gave us time were given invitations in person, some were sent by post. VHP has been saying that anyone who believes in Shri Ram and is proud of the culture of this country is welcome darshanVHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said Indian Express.
The senior VHP leader said that the speculation about opposition leaders not being invited to the Pran Paratishtha event on January 22 was false as it has always been part of the plan to invite all senior political leaders. “Of course, everyone cannot be named because there is a problem with the number of people who can gather at this event. That is why party presidents are invited. But all are welcome to visit Ayodhya after the event,” the leader said.
