On Saturday, Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar voiced criticism against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expressed intention to "personally conduct the Pran Pratishtha ceremony" at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Aiyar, speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival, also asserted that the Prime Minister might face consequences due to the absence of the four Shankaracharya, who declined participation in the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony.
Aiyar contended that the disapproval from the four Shankaracharya, considered prominent figures in the Hindu religion, might have repercussions for the Prime Minister. The senior Congress leader conveyed that this situation was revealing the distinction between the "real Hindu" and the one who comprehends the difference between 'Hinduism' and 'Hindutva'.
Quoting Aiyar, news agency PTI reported, "Modi's attempt at being personally present and personally conducting the religious ceremony has received such strong disapproval from the four accepted seers of the Hindu religion, who constitute what you may call the pontiffs of the Hindu religion, that it is all going to turn back on him. It will bite back."
A day before Aiyar's remarks, Jyotir Mutt head Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati from Uttarakhand had announced that none of the four Shankaracharya would attend the event. The reason cited was that the consecration ceremony was taking place before the completion of the temple construction, which was deemed a clear "violation of the shastras."
In delineating the disparity between Hinduism and Hindutva, Aiyar expressed, "Most Hindus, at least 50 percent of them, have never voted for Hindutva. It is our way of conducting elections that has resulted in Hindutva power in the last 10 years."
Noteworthy is the decision by Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, to "respectfully decline" the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony. They accused the BJP of transforming it into a "political project" for electoral gains. This stance drew sharp criticism from the ruling BJP, asserting that the Congress and its allies have been consistently "insulting" Hindus and Sanatan Dharma and that their position is not surprising.
