West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is unlikely to attend the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration) of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 next year, a senior Trinamool Congress leader told news agency PTI on Wednesday.
Sources in the TMC told the agency that neither the chief minister nor any representative of the West Bengal government or the party will be present at the event.
“There is no question of Mamata Banerjee or any other representative of the TMC attending the Ram Mandir inauguration at Ayodhya next month. We don’t believe in mixing politics with religion,” a senior TMC leader told PTI.
The TMC’s stand on the Ayodhya event comes a day after Communist Party of India (Marxist) turned down the invitation, with its boss Sitaram Yechury saying religion is a personal choice.
“Our policy is to respect religious beliefs and the right of each individual to pursue their belief. Religion is a personal choice not to be converted into an instrument for political gain. Comrade Sitaram Yechury will not attend the ceremony despite receiving an invitation to do so,” he had said in a post on X.
‘INDIA’ divided over Ram temple ceremony
However, the Ram temple consecration event in Ayodhya has left the opposition bloc ‘INDIA’ divided. Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav had said she will attend the event if invited.
Shiv Sena (UBT) faction leader Sanjay Raut said there was no need for an invitation to party chief Uddhav Thackeray to visit Ayodhya as his party has an old association with the UP town.
“There is no need for Uddhav Thackeray to be invited to Ayodhya. We are in Ayodhya before you (the BJP),” Raut was quoted by PTI as saying.
The Congress has thanked the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the invitation but has not revealed its stand on whether top leaders will attend it.
“They have invited us, we are very much thankful to them for inviting us, let us (see),” Congress general secretary KC Venugopal had said.
