Former Uttar Pradesh Congress chief to attend Pran Pratishtha event, says ‘not a sin to be Ram Bhakt’

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 17 (ANI): Days after top leaders in the Congress turned down the invitation to attend the Ram Mandir event in Ayodhya, its former Uttar Pradesh party chief Nirmal Khatri said that he has accepted the invite for the January 22 event saying that being a Ram Bhakt (devotee of Lord Ram) is not a sin.
"...in connection with the program of Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha on 22nd in Ayodhya, I will participate in this program in honour of the personal invitation of respected Champat Rai ji, General Secretary of Ram Janmabhoomi Trust," Khatri said in a post on 'X'.
"Being a devotee of Ram is not a sin, I am proud of this devotion," he reasoned.
The former Faizabad MP further said that there is no instruction from the Congress party prohibiting its leaders from visiting the temple and only the top leaders in the party have turned down the invitation. Khatri also reasoned that even the Uttar Pradesh Congress unit has asked its workers to visit the Ayodhya temple and take a dip in the Saryu river to mark the Pran Pratishtha event.
"There is no instruction from the Congress Party that no Congressman should participate in this program on 22nd. Only our top leaders have expressed their inability to attend the event on 22nd. Hence I accept the invitation on 22nd and will participate in it. And now the state Congress unit has also inspired the state Congress unit to accept the invitation of 22nd by doing Ayodhya Yatra and take a dip in Saryu at all costs," Khatri said.
The former Uttar Pradesh Congress said that the fight against the ideology of any party or organization can be done only by strengthening its organization on an ideological basis and not by any reaction.
"We will not be able to compete with our opponent in the battle of events. Only by strengthening our organization on an ideological basis will we be able to fight our opponent, to which no attention is being paid," he complained.
Khatri urged his party colleagues to work on strengthening the party on ideological grounds which will help in influencing the public mind.
"I request the leaders of Uttar Pradesh that leaving aside the politics of events, we should defeat our opponents on the ideological ground by strengthening our organization and through it, we will influence the public mind. We can do this only by spreading our sentiments," he said.
Speaking about his belief in Lord Ram, Khatri said, "Valmiki, the first author of Ramkatha, has written- "Ramo Vigrahavan Dharma" which means Ram is religion and religion is Ram. That means whatever Ram does becomes religion, and explains religion."
The former Uttar Pradesh Congress chief said that he is against the "hypocrisy of religion" and is against the tactics of taking political benefits with the help of religion.
Earlier on Tuesday, while speaking at the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Nagaland, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that RSS and the BJP have made the January 22 function at Ram Temple in Ayodhya "a completely political Narendra Modi function" and that it is difficult for Congress leaders "to go to a political function which is designed around the Prime Minister of India and around the RSS". (ANI)