HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Jan 11: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday criticised the Congress, stating that their refusal to attend the Ayodhya Ram temple consecration ceremony marks them as “anti-Hindu.”
Sarma contended that the party’s historical opposition to Hindu community interests is perpetuated by declining such invitations.
The chief minister also argued that this trend traces back to Jawaharlal Nehru’s 1951 boycott of the Somnath Temple function, asserting that the Congress continues this stance with the Ram Temple.
“The origin of this tradition of opposing the Hindu community dates back to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who initiated it by boycotting the Somnath Temple function in May 1951. This same tradition persists within the current generation of the Congress party,” he said during a press conference here in Guwahati.
He further said that Congress will continue to be considered an anti-Hindu party for years and decades to come.
“I feel pity and sad for them as one does not have to be anti-Muslim to respect the Hindu civilisation,” Sarma added.
Later talking to the micro-blogging site X, he said that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) presented an opportunity for Congress to “reduce its sin” by accepting the invitation, symbolically apologising to the Hindu community.
“The @VHPDigital had given the Congress party a golden opportunity to reduce its sin by extending their leadership an invitation to attend the Shri Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha Mahotsava. Although in my humble view, they did not deserve such an invitation in the first place for their views against the Ram Mandir from the very beginning.
By accepting this invitation, they could have symbolically offered an apology to the Hindu Samaj. However, like Pt Nehru did with the Somnath Temple, the Congress leadership did the same with the Ram Temple. History will continue to judge them as an anti-Hindu party,” Sarma wrote on X.
Sarma also emphasised the importance of the temple’s consecration as a “civilisational landmark” and expresses a desire for positive celebration, involving all communities in Assam.
The chief minister included Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh’s statement in his post, which detailed the party’s decision to reject the invitation for Sonia Gandhi, Mallikaarjun Kharge, and Adhir Ranjan Choudhury.
Ramesh emphasised that while millions worship Lord Ram, one’s religion is a personal matter.
The Congress leader also accused the both RSS and BJP of turning the Ayodhya Temple into a political project and alleged that the inauguration was strategically advanced for electoral gains.
He stated that, in adherence to the 2019 Supreme Court (SC) judgment and to honor the sentiments of Lord Ram’s devotees, the three Congress leaders respectfully declined the invitation, considering it primarily an RSS and BJP event.
