Shashi Tharoor says he would love to visit Ram Temple one day but not before elections

Tharoor said every politician should be free to decide whether they would skip Ram Temple event and be called anti-Hindu or attend and play into BJP's hands.

Published on: Dec 28, 2023, 13:00:18 IST

By HT News Desk

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Amid intense politicking over attending the grand Ram Mandir inauguration on January 22, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday clarified that he would love to visit the Ram temple one day but not on the day of the 'grand political extravaganza'. The day will also not come before the 2024 elections, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said adding that his visit to Ram Temple should not be interpreted politically. A day before, Shashi Tharoor said to him religion is a personal attribute and not the government's business.

Shashi Tharoor said he would like to visit Ram Temple but not on the day of the inauguration, nor before the elections.

"Speaking for myself as a Hindu, I see a temple as place to connect with the divine rather than a stage for political theatre," the writer of Why I Am a Hindu said.

The Ram Temple invitations to the Congress's top leaders have put the party in a quandary as its UDF allies in Kerala and several Muslim bodies are not in favour of Congress leaders attending the event. The Congress leadership has also not committed on their stance -- on whether no Congress leader would attend the January 22 event.

“The Congress stance seems to be that it wants to attend the Ram temple event to prevent the erosion of its Hindu vote base in north India especially with Lok Sabha elections approaching. It is this soft Hindutva stance that has taken the party which ruled India for 36 years down to its present condition. The Congress leadership may not know this but the people of India do,” the editorial of Suprabhatham, the mouthpiece of the EK faction of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama (SAMASTHA) read.

Reacting to the row, Shashi Tharoor said every individual should be free to take this decision. "Personally, I believe religious faith is a personal matter and should not be seen politically, or misused politically. I hope each of the invitees is left free to make a personal choice, rather than be described as "anti-Hindu" if they don't go or "playing into the BJP's hands" if they do attend," Tharoor said.

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