Will visit Ayodhya with family after Jan 22: Akhilesh Yadav turns down invite to Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ram Temple

Samajwadi Party SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday 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 reported news agency ANIHowever Akhilesh Yadav did say that he will visit the temple with his family at a later dateCPIM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and a host of Congress bigwigs national president Mallikarjun Kharge former president Sonia Gandhi and the partys Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhuryhave already turned down the invitation to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ram Temple reported ANIThe 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 reported ANIThank 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 reported ANII will surely visit Ayodhya with my family after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony he added reported ANIEarlier on Friday Akhilesh said that Samajwadis 100 per cent believe in the tradition of country and Sanatana adding Can anyone ever be invited to Gods abode We visit temples impulsively where there is an inner calling and an urge deep downWe Samajwadis 100 percent believe in our tradition and Sanatana Today is the birth anniversary of Vivekananda He had said that our society teaches tolerance Those who do not trust the Constitution can never be a Sanatani We are people who believe in Bhimrao Ambedkar he said reported ANIJab Bhagwan bulayenge Jab Shri Ram bulayenge hum jayenge When God calls when Shri Ram calls we will go he added reported ANIEarlier this month Mallikarjun Kharge Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury turned down the invitation to the grand Ram Temple opening on January 22 calling it a BJPRSS event reported ANIThe opposition parties of the INDIA bloc have accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of using the Ram Temple for electoral gains in the coming Lok Sabha polls reported ANIEarlier on Friday Congress leader Pawan Khera queried whether the event would be held under the guidance of the Shankaracharyas of the four peethsthe major shrines in the countryThere is a system and set of rituals around Pran Pratishtha If this event is religious then why is it not happening under the guidance of the Shankaracharyas of the Four Peeths All four Shankaracharyas have said clearly that the Pran Pratishtha cannot be done in an incomplete temple So if this event is not religious then it has to be political I cannot accept some leaders of a party serving as middlemen between me and my avowed deity Some of our politicians are acting like Thekedars contractors Which Panchang did the BJP refer to before finalising the date The date was chosen keeping the Lok Sabha elections in mind Congress leader Pawan Khera said on Friday reported ANIHowever the BJP on the other hand has been accusing the grand old party of hurting religious sentimentsPrime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to preside over the Pran Pratistha and ceremonial opening of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22Vedic rituals for the PranPratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla infant Lord Ram in Ayodhya will begin on January 16 a week before the main ceremonyA priest from Varanasi Lakshmi Kant Dixit will perform the main rituals of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22 From January 14 to January 22 Ayodhya will mark the Amrit MahotsavA 1008 Hundi Mahayagya will also be organised in which thousands of devotees will be fed Several tent cities are being erected in Ayodhya to accommodate thousands of devotees who are expected to arrive in the temple town of Uttar Pradesh for the grand Pran Pratishtha ceremony reported ANIAccording to the Sri Ram Janambhoomi Trust arrangements will be made for 1000015000 peopleWith inputs from ANI