Uttar Pradesh Congress keeps its date with Ayodhya, Deepender Hooda drops in

A DAY before the start of the consecration rituals for the Ayodhya temple, senior Congress leaders of Uttar Pradesh arrived in the town to offer their prayers to the existing Ram Lalla idol at the once disputed site.

While the state Congress leaders were there, on Makar Sankranti day, as per a previously announced programme, a surprise addition was the party’s Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana, Deepender Hooda.

The UP Congress had announced its decision to be in Ayodhya to offer prayers on January 15 soon after the party leadership declared that it would stay away from the consecration ceremony as it had become an “RSS-BJP event”.

The Congress leaders, many of whom took a dip in the Saryu river, to chants of Jai Shri Ram, offered prayers at the Hanuman Garhi temple, and visited the Ram Lalla idol, included AICC general secretary in-charge of UP Avinash Pande, Congress state president Ajay Rai, AICC secretary in-charge of UP Dheeraj Gujjar, and Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhna Mishra, and the party’s national face and PCC member Supriya Shrinate.

The leaders also met Ram Temple chief priest Satyendra Das.

Asked about the party’s visit ahead of the consecration, which the leadership is not attending, the Congress leaders said the two should not be linked. Their visit was mainly to mark the “auspicious day of Makar Sankranti” and part of a usual exercise to visit temples on the day, they claimed.

While UP Congress leaders travelled together from Lucknow, Pande, Hooda and Srinate reached Ayodhya directly, and later left from the town for Delhi.

Pande said: “Every person can come and offer their prayer when they deem fit, and it should not be politicised… Prabhu Ram hamare hridaya mein hain, desh ke kan-kan mein basey hue hain.