President's Ayodhya Visit: Ram Mandir Trust Replies To Congress's Claim Of 'Murmu Not Invited To Consecration'

Champat Rai, the trust’s general secretary, dismissed Gandhi’s claim as “absolutely false, baseless, and misleading,” saying that the President was invited to the event held in January this year. 

The Shri Ram Janambhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust rebutted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations on Tuesday, denying his claim that President Droupadi Murmu was excluded from the Pran Prathisthan ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya as she hails from Adivasi community. Champat Rai, the trust’s general secretary, dismissed Gandhi’s claim as “absolutely false,  baseless, and misleading,” saying that President Murmu was indeed invited to the event held in January this year. Rahul Gandhi has made such claims several times throughout his rallies. 

“In a meeting in Gujarat, Rahul ji has said that the President Droupadi Murmu was not invited to the occasion of Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya because she is a tribal. As the General Secretary and Trustee of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, I have serious objection to these statements of Rahul ji. These statements are absolutely false, baseless, and misleading,” he told said in a video posted on X by the temple trust. 

Rai deemed Gandhi’s allegations as “seriously objectionable”. He clarified that both President Murmu and former President Ram Nath Kovind were extended invitations to the Pran Prathistha ceremony. 

“Both President Murmu & former President Ram Nath Kovind were invited to the Pran Pratishtha. People from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and the extremely poor were invited and they had come…,” he said. 

“Even during the Pran Prathisthan rituals, many families belonging to the Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Castes were given the opportunity to worship in the ‘Goodh Mandap’ of Shri Ram Janambhoomi Mandir,” he added. 

President Murmu To Visit Ayodhya Today

President Droupadi Murmu is all set to visit Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir for darshan on Wednesday, as confirmed by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The visit marks her inaugural pilgrimage to the newly erected temple, consecrated on January 22. 

The ‘Pran Prathistha’ of Shri Ram Lalla at Ayodhya’s temple occurred on January 22, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi officiating the Vedic rituals, overseen by a cadre of priests. The ceremony witnessed the attendance of representatives from various spiritual and religious factions across the country. 

READ | President Droupadi Murmu To Visit Ayodhya On Wednesday, To Visit Ram Temple