Iqbal Ansari, formerly a key litigant in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case, has received an official invitation for the January 22 Ram Mandir inauguration ceremony.

Ram Mandir Consecration: In a shining example of the famed Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb from the land of Ayodhya, Iqbal Ansari, a former litigant in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land suit, bought a miniature replica of Ram Temple to gift one of his aides.

“This is a replica of the Ram Temple. People have different faith. I have also bought to gift for my gunner. The demand for these types of things has increased, so I also bought this,” Iqbal Ansari, who has received an official invitation for the January 22 Ram Mandir inauguration ceremony, told news agency ANI.

The invitation to Ansari has been extended by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust.

#WATCH | Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh | Former litigant in Ayodhya land dispute case, Iqbal Ansari received an invitation to the ‘Pranpratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Temple scheduled for January 22. On behalf of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, workers of RSS handed him the invitation… pic.twitter.com/USD3hB1ba7

— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2024

Bathe in Saryu, cleanse your soul: Ansari’s dig at Congress

Iqbal Ansari, formerly a key litigant in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case, had also received an invitation to attend the ‘bhoomipujan’ ceremony of Ram Mandir, held on August 5, 2020.

Earlier today, in a sly dig at the Congress for turning down the Ram Mandir invite, Iqbal Ansari said there was no need to oppose the pran-pratishtha ceremony at the temple.

“I belong to Ayodhya and the land of Ayodhya is religious, people place their devotion into the city. All Opposition parties are opposing it. But we are not opposing it, we are clearly saying that come to Ayodhya and take a holy dip in the Saryu river – cleanse your body and mind,” he said.

#WATCH | Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh | On Congress MP Digvijaya Singh’s statement on Ram Temple pranpratishtha, former litigant in Ayodhya land dispute case, Iqbal Ansari says, “I belong to Ayodhya and the land of Ayodhya is religious, people place their devotion into the city. All… pic.twitter.com/0hBos59QFX

— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2024

Iqbal further said, “There is no need to oppose it, ‘pran pratishtha’ is going to take place. People should come and give an account to the Lord, of whatever they did in their lives, and seek his blessings.”

Congress ‘respectfully’ declines Ram Mandir invite

On Wednesday, the Congress ‘respectfully’ declined the invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya on January 22. The grand old party accused the BJP of using Ayodhya as a ‘political project’ and dubbed the consecration ceremony a ‘BJP/RSS’ event.

The Congress asserted that Lord Ram is worshipped by millions of people in the country and religion is a personal matter.

“But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has been obviously brought forward for electoral gain,” the party said.

“While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgment and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event,” it added.

(With ANI inputs)