"Congress hurt sentiments of majority population of country by insulting Pran Pratishtha ceremony," says MP CM Mohan Yadav

CM Yadav made the remark while speaking to ANI in view of the Congress party rejecting the invitation for Ram Mandir 'Pran Pratishtha' in New Delhi.

"It is very unfortunate, the Congress first created hurdles in the Ram Mandir and now they hurt the sentiments of the majority population of the country by insulting the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. The Congress should apologise for this," the CM said.

If they (Congress) don't want to attend then they should not come, but by rejecting it publicly they have hurt the sentiments of all Hindus, he added.

Meanwhile, a former MP minister and Congress leader PC Sharma on Thursday raised a demand from the state government that a 'dry day' should be declared in Madhya Pradesh on the day Pran Pratishtha of Ram Mandir.

Reacting to Congress turning down the invitation to the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony, Sharma said, "Lord Ram is present in every inch of our body. We have also donated for the construction of Ram mandir. Shankaracharyas have been insulted by this Pran Pratishtha of Ram temple, hence the senior Congress leadership has refused to go. I myself will go to see Ram Lala in February."

Earlier, on Wednesday, the Congress turned down the invitation to the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony, calling it a 'BJP/RSS event".

Senior Congress leaders -- Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury --'declined' the invitation for the grand event in Ayodhya.

"Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain. While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgement and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event," the Congress said in a statement.

Preparations are underway in full swing for the Ram Temple 'Pran Pratishtha' on January 22, which will draw dignitaries and people from all walks of life. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has decided to enthrone Ram Lalla at the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram Temple at noon on January 22. Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya will begin on January 16, a week before the main ceremony.

A priest from Varanasi, Lakshmi Kant Dixit, will perform the main rituals of the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22. From January 14 to January 22, Ayodhya will mark the Amrit Mahotsav. Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, holds great spiritual, historical, and cultural significance for the people of India. (ANI)