The Congress’ perceived ambivalence about attending the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya seems to push the party into a quandary in Kerala and induce worry in the United Democratic Front (UDF) about expending valuable political capital in terms of minority appeal ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress, which has championed the cause of the Sabarimala faith, appears extremely anxious about risking Hindu votes by boycotting the high-profile event.
In New Delhi, party general secretary K.C. Venugopal dodged questions on whether the Congress leadership would accept the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s invitation to the temple sanctification on January 22. Earlier, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan pushed the question into the All India Congress Committee’s court.
Indian Union Muslim League general secretary P.M.A. Salam warned the Congress against rising to the BJP’s bait. “Whether it is Ram temple or any other agenda, secular parties should be cautious not to play into the hands of the BJP,” Mr. Salam said in Kozhikode.
It does not help the Congress that influential Muslim organisations, primarily the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, feel that the CPI(M) and CPI have burnished the left’s secular credentials by shunning the temple trust’s invitation.
Samastha, for one, seems acutely sensitive that the promise of building a Ram temple over the ruins of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya has remained at the centre of Sangh Parivar politics and has spurred the BJP’s ascendancy.
In a hard-hitting editorial in its newspaper Suprabatham, the Samastha said the Congress’ “soft-Hindutva disposition” offers no credible alternative to the BJP’s “extreme Hindu majoritarian line and minorities and Dalits may be constrained to shift allegiance to “staunchly secular” political platforms. Distressingly for the UDF, the editorial has hailed the positions of the CPI(M) and CPI.
In the meantime, Janata Dal (S) president Deve Gowda’s decision to attend the event has put the party’s State unit, a ruling front ally with a Cabinet portfolio, in an awkward position. It has also rendered the Left Democratic Front to criticism that it was harbouring a BJP ally.
The JD(S) State unit fears that a formal severance of ties with the national leadership might invite the provisions of the anti-defection law.
