Ram Temple Inauguration: Here’s What Opposition Leaders Did As PM Modi Led Pran Prathishtha Rituals

The grand inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya took place today, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the rituals in the newly built temple. 

The new idol of Ram Lalla was consecrated at the newly constructed temple amid grand celebrations across the country.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, actors Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, Ravishankar Prasad and industrialist Mukesh Ambani, among others, attended the event.

Meanwhile, several opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Uddhav Thackeray, and Arvind Kejriwal, skipped the grand consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple, with the Congress top brass alleging that it had been made into a “BJP-RSS event”.

However, JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu attended the event, while Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik watched the Pran Pratistha ceremony on television at his residence.

Let’s Take A Look At What Other Opposition Leaders Did During The Day-

Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is in Assam for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, was scheduled to visit Sattra, the birthplace of Vaishnav saint Srimanta Sankardeva, on Monday. However, Gandhi was stopped on his way and was not allowed to visit the sacred place.

The incident took place a day after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said at a press conference that he requested Gandhi not to visit the shrine before the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The management of the shrine had also announced on Sunday that they will allow Gandhi to visit the temple after 3 pm because of the Pran Prathistha event.

However, Gandhi and his entourage had started for the Sattra in the morning but were stopped at Haibargaon.

He along with senior Congress leaders and supporters staged a dharna while party MP Gaurav Gogoi and Batadrava MLA Sibamoni Bora proceeded to the birthplace to resolve the issue.

Mamata Banerjee

Trinamool Congress chief Banerjee led an all-faith rally that included visits to diverse places of worship, such as a temple, mosque, church, and gurdwara, aligning with the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya earlier in the day.

Accompanied by religious leaders from various faiths and key party members, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo initiated the ‘Sanghati March’ from Hazra More in Kolkata.

Before commencing the rally, Banerjee commenced the day by offering prayers at the iconic Kalighat temple in south Kolkata, seeking blessings from Goddess Kali.

Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, cabinet ministers, and AAP MLAs took part in various events across the national capital as part of the party’s plan to mark the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) organised shobha yatras and bhandaras in different parts of the national capital to celebrate the ‘Pran Pratistha (consecration)’ ceremony.

In a post in Hindi on X, Kejriwal said he participated in bhandaras organised in different areas of Delhi.

Uddhav Thackery

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray earlier today prayed at the renowned Kalaram Temple in Nashik. The former chief minister, who took part in various rituals, including ‘pradakshina’ (clockwise circumambulation of sacred structures/entities), was honoured by the temple trustees.

Thackeray also visited the memorial of VD Savarkar in Bhagur, the birthplace of the late Hindutva ideologue. He performed ‘Goda pujan’ and worshipped the Godavari river at Ramkund on Goda ghat earlier today.