Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee likely to skip event on Jan 22

Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, is likely to skip the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. In addition, her party, Trinamool Congress (TMC), is expected to send a representative on her behalf to the ceremony.

There has been no official announcement about the decision as of now, but the report states that this decision of not to attend the inauguration ceremony was taken to stay clear of the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party's (BJP) political narrative. TMC believes that the BJP is looking forward to leveraging the Ram Mandir inauguration event as a springboard for its 2024 Lok Sabha campaign, and TMC is not willing to be a part of it.

Ram Temple Trust extended invitations to all chief ministers and leading opposition figures for the ceremony scheduled for January 22.

Previously, Sitaram Yechury, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (M), turned down the invitation to the inauguration ceremony of the Ram temple, saying that "religion is a personal choice not to be converted into an instrument for political gain".

A statement issued by the party mentions, “It is most unfortunate that the BJP and RSS have converted a religious ceremony into a state sponsored event directly involving the prime minister, the UP chief minister and other government functionaries.”

“The CPI(M) General Secretary Comrade Sitaram Yechury has received an invitation to attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The CPI(M) policy has been to respect religious beliefs and safeguarding the right of every individual to pursue their belief. It believes that religion is a personal choice not to be converted into an instrument for political gain. Therefore, we will not be attending the ceremony.

A fundamental principle of governance in India as reiterated by the Supreme Court is that the State in India, under the constitution, should have no religious affiliation. This is being violated by the ruling regime in the organisation of the event,” it added.

On January 22, the newly constructed Ram temple will be inaugurated in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people. Since its announcement, people across India have been showing continuous excitement to witness the grand "Pran Pratistha" ceremony.

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