New Delhi: Will Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar go to Ayodhya on January 22 or not? The decision to attend the idol installation ceremony of Ram temple will be his own. JD(U) leader KC Tyagi said this on Thursday, increasing the suspense. Most of the opposition leaders have declined the invitation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for January 22. These include Congress’ Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, CPI (M)’s Sitaram Yechury. Congress has announced not to go, calling it a ‘BJP-RSS program’.
Will Nitish also refuse to go to Ayodhya like Sonia-Akhilesh or will JD(U)’s stand be different from the allies? On this question, Tyagi said, ‘Nitish ji has received the invitation as the chief minister and the party president. Nitish ji has to decide on this and we will inform you of his decision.’
On January 22, Ram Lalla’s idol will be installed in Ayodhya in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All the big leaders of BJP and RSS will participate in that program. In addition, famous personalities from India and abroad have also been invited. Opposition parties’ leaders were also invited. However, most of them decided to stay away from the program on January 22.
Congress’ Jairam Ramesh accused BJP and RSS of making the temple installation a ‘political project’ for electoral gains. Congress also raised questions on the government’s intention over the inauguration of the ‘incomplete’ temple. Some Congress leaders will surely be present in Ayodhya on January 22, but on a personal level.
Unlike other opposition parties, JD(U) had earlier also expressed its desire to participate in the temple inauguration. JD(U) spokesperson had told The Indian Express on Monday, ‘Ram belongs to everyone. We respect all religions.
If we get the invitation for the temple inauguration in Ayodhya, we will definitely send someone.’ Tyagi had said, ‘It does not matter who goes to Ayodhya on January 22. If we do not get the invitation, we will go according to our own account.’
Will Nitish Anger Allies By Going To Ayodhya?
If Nitish decides to go to Ayodhya on January 22, it may upset the allies of I.N.D.I.A. Most of the opposition alliance parties have distanced themselves by calling it a ‘political program’. However, this has given BJP another opportunity to call the opposition parties ‘anti-Hindu’.
BJP has opened a front against Congress. If Nitish does not come, BJP will also project him as ‘anti-Hindu’. In such a situation, it is possible that Nitish may not go himself, but send some other leader of the party to Ayodhya. After all, JD(U) leaders call ‘secularism’ half of Nitish’s politics.