Rift Within Kerala Congress After State Unit Urges Top Brass Not To Attend Ayodhya Ram Temple Consecration

Earlier, Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP K Muraleedharan stated on Thursday that the state unit has urged the national leadership not to take part in the consecration ceremony.

The statements from Congress leaders came a day after Samastha, a prominent Muslim Sunni clerical body in Kerala, criticized the party for its indecision.

Source : ANI file

A controversy emerged within the Kerala state unit of the Congress regarding the political stance to be adopted in response to the invitation extended to the party's national leadership to attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP K Muraleedharan stated on Thursday that the state unit has urged the national leadership not to take part in the consecration ceremony. However, KPCC chief K Sudhakaran said that he was unaware of the state unit communicating its position to the national leadership on this matter.

Union Minister and BJP leader V Muraleedharan said, " Despite receiving an invitation for Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, we don't know what is the stand of Congress but in Kerala, Congress leaders have demanded that Congress must not participate in the ceremony. CPI(M) said that this is mixing of religion with politics. I want to ask CPI(M) leaders, if they feel so...they should first abolish the Devaswom dept and CPI(M) leaders should not go to Sabarimala temple..."

#WATCH | Union Minister and BJP leader V Muraleedharan says, " Despite receiving an invitation for Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, we don't know what is the stand of Congress but in Kerala, Congress leaders have demanded that Congress must not participate in the… pic.twitter.com/rYwFc7boKp

— ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2023

 

The statements from Congress leaders came a day after Samastha, a prominent Muslim Sunni clerical body in Kerala, criticized the party for its indecision regarding attendance at the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The editorial in 'Suprabhatham,' the mouthpiece of Samastha, accused the Congress of adopting a soft-Hindutva stance.

Till now, the Congress has not revealed whether its key leaders, including President Mallikarjun Kharge, will attend the ceremony.