Ram temple consecration: BJP's Tejasvi Surya slams Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, urges him to declare holiday on Jan 22

BJP's Tejasvi Surya on Saturday slammed Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaih for not declaring a holiday on January 22, when Ayodhya Ram temple's consecration ceremony is to take place. Surya, a BJP MP from Bengaluru South, said 14 states have already declared a holiday on January 22 for Ram Lalla's Pran Pratishtana. "There's also a half day declared for Central Govt staff, while many private organisations have declared a holiday. This once-in-500-years event is a historic moment for the country and something beyond politics," he said.

The BJP's firebrand young leader then urged the chief minister to "immediately declare a statewide holiday and not politicise such matters".

The Congress has turned down the invitation to attend the temple consecration event in Ayodhya. No Congress-ruled states have so far announced a holiday on that day. The Congress chief ministers too have said that they won't visit the temple on January 22.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaih and his deputy DK Shiva Kumar are also not going to Ayodhya. 

Among the states that have declared a holiday on Jan 22 are Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Assam, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and Tripura.   

Congress and opposition-ruled states like West Bengal have not declared a holiday on January 22. 

The Congress on January 10 said the party's Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony. In a statement, Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh said that Lord Ram is worshipped by millions , but the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya.