Thiruvananthapuram | The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Friday lashed out at the Congress party which appeared to be indecisive over the invitation to attend the inauguration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya and said it shows the political bankruptcy of that party.
CPI(M) State Secretary M V Govindan today said the move to build a temple with the support of the government was not befitting of a secular nation.
Attacking the Congress party, the senior Left leader said the grand old party was unable to uphold secularism to defeat Hindutva aggression.
"Hindutva aggression cannot be tackled by soft Hindutva, a policy which is adopted by the Congress in north India," Govindan said, adding that it was evident from the Congress party's defeat in four states in the last assembly elections.
Govindan said the BJP was using the temple issue to create a communal divide among voters across the country in order to protect the interests of the Sangh Parivar.
"The Congress should take a stance upholding secularism and to counter the communal agenda of the BJP," Govindan said.
He said some people (political parties) claim that they are the custodian of beliefs. "But if we examine carefully, the extremists are not believers but they exploit beliefs as a tool to propagate their ideology. A true believer cannot be a communal person," the senior left leader said.
He added that the inauguration of the temple was neither constitutional nor in accordance with the Supreme Court order.
"Here, as part of the Sangh Parivar's political agenda, the mosque was demolished and a temple was built in its place under the leadership of the government. The BJP and the RSS are using religious beliefs as a tool for political purposes," Govindan said.
He also claimed that the construction work of the temple was not yet over but the inauguration was being held keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
"The stand taken by the Congress party on the issue of the Ram temple construction shows their political bankruptcy. The Babri Masjid demolition was an incident that broke the cornerstone of India's secular tradition. Rajiv Gandhi gave permission for 'kar seva', and Narasimha Rao was the prime minister when the mosque was demolished," Govindan said.
The Ram temple will be inaugurated on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend the grand 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony.
The CPI(M) has already declared that its representatives will not attend the ceremony, calling it a political move by the BJP ahead of the general elections that are to be held in a few months.
