New Delhi/IBNS: Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not attend the Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya on Jan 22, as the party called it an "RSS/BJP event."

In a statement released to the media, Jairam Ramesh, General Secretary (communication) of Congress said that the inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS is being done for electoral gain.

He said, "Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya."

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust last month sent invitations to Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and the party's leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

The Congress leader said, "While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event."

The Jan 22 inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attended by political leaders, industrialists, actors and other prominent personalities. 

The event, which was preceded by the inauguration of an international airport and the redeveloped railway station in the area, has been of huge interest nationwide.
The refurbished temple town of Ayodhya is getting ready to host thousands on the big day.

The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday declared that schools and colleges across the state will remain shut on Jan 22. The event will be telecast live across the country and many places abroad.