CPI(M) chief Sitaram Yechury turns down Ayodhya Ram Temple invite

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has invited former Prime Ministers and leaders of leading political parties to the January 22 event

Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday declined the invitation to attend the January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, becoming the only political party chief to have done so until now.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has invited former prime ministers and leaders of leading political parties to the event. After receiving the invite last week, the Congress indicated it would send representatives on behalf of the party, while most other political parties have also stated their leaderships, if invited, will attend the ceremony.

Nripendra Misra, the chairman of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Construction Committee, along with a Vishva Hindu Parishad leader, met Yechury on Tuesday at the CPI(M) headquarters in the national capital to extend the invitation, which the Left leader declined.

“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,” the CPI(M) said in a post on X.

Yechury, and later his party’s Polit Bureau, termed it “most unfortunate” that “the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have converted a religious ceremony into a state-sponsored event directly involving the Prime Minister, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, and other government functionaries.”

Former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said he would attend the Prana Pratishtha, or consecration, ceremony along with his family. Kumaraswamy mentioned that leaders of the trust, including RSS’ Ram Lal and others, visited him on Tuesday. The trust has already invited former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

In its statement, the CPI (M) said: “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.” The Communist Party of India (CPI) Chief D Raja is also likely to decline the invitation.

Last week, when asked whether he would attend the January 22 ceremony, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav said he would if the trust were to invite him. Among the Congress leadership, the trust has invited former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and the party's Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury. The party has accepted the invite.