Ram temple: Akhilesh Yadav gets invite, says will visit after January 22

'We will surely visit with family as devotees after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony,' said Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav

Ram mandir inauguration updates: Samajwadi Party (SP) National President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday received the invitation to attend the consecration of the Ram mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. However, he said that he would visit the temple, along with his family, after the inauguration event.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the SP leader said that he received the invitation on Saturday and that he would come to Ram temple as a visitor after the consecration ceremony.

"Thank you for the affectionate invitation to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, Ayodhya, and heartfelt wishes for the successful completion of the ceremony. We will surely visit with family as devotees after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony," the SP leader said.

Akhilesh, in the letter shared on X, also congratulated the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.

Akhilesh Yadav's reply came amid a political row over the attendance at the Pran Pratishtha ceremony by various political parties. On Friday, Yadav alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was humiliating the Opposition parties in the name of Lord Ram.

The Congress party, on the other hand, announced that it would not be attending the January 22 ceremony, alleging that the event has been turned into a political one rather than a religious one. 

Other major Opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress (TMC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Shiv Sena (UBT), also opined that the consecration of the Ram temple is an "election gimmick".

Meanwhile, BJP leaders have been attacking the Opposition parties, declining Ram mandir's invitation by labelling them as "anti-Ram" parties.