Kozhikode: CPM state secretary M V Govindan has said the Left parties influenced Congress' decision to boycott the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22.
Congress General Secretary (Communications), Jairam Ramesh, had said on Wednesday that the party leaders have decided not to attend the inauguration as it was 'clearly an RSS/BJP event'.
Ramesh said Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and parliamentary party chairperson, Sonia Gandhi and the party's leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury received invites, but will not be going.
“The Congress party deciding to not attend the inauguration of Ram Temple on the place where Babri Masjid was demolished shows the relevance of Left politics. There can be no doubt that the Left has influenced the Congress to arrive at this decision,” Govindan said.
The senior communist leader said the timing of the Ram Temple inauguration was part of the BJP's campaign ahead of the General Elections this year.
“Hindutva agenda and political interest are behind this inauguration. The question of irreverence towards God does not arise in this matter.”
Megalomania at its worst
CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for abusing religious sentiments for political gains.
"Modi self-appropriates all government schemes and funds to project himself as people’s benefactor through personal charity! Doctored data and deceitful claims are standard operating procedures of Modi propaganda PR and spin," Yechury posted on Facebook.
"Megalomania at its worst! What else is this but the brazen politicisation of the Temple construction for electoral dividends! Gross misuse and abuse of people’s faith and religious sentiments," he said. PM Modi will attend the inauguration on January 22.
