Akhilesh declines Jan 22 Ayodhya invite, plans future visit

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav turned down the invitation to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, joining the list of Opposition leaders to have snubbed the temple invite.

However, Akhilesh did say that he will visit the temple with his family at a later date.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and a host of Congress bigwigs — national president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi and the party’s Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury–have already turned down the invitation to the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony.

The SP chief and the former UP chief minister, on Friday, wrote to Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the trust entrusted with the construction of the Ram Temple, informing him of his decision to skip the event.

“Thank you for the invitation to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple and congratulations on its successful completion,” read the letter written by the SP chief.
“I will surely visit Ayodhya with my family after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony,” he added.

Earlier, on Friday, Akhilesh said that Samajwadis “100 per cent” believe in the tradition of country and Sanatana, adding, “Can anyone ever be invited to God’s abode? We visit temples impulsively, where there is an inner calling and an urge deep down.”