Congress Declines January 22 Ram Mandir Invite. Read Full Statement Here

The party said its leaders who have been invited to the event, have declined the invite.

The Congress today announced that it would skip the massive consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, saying it was a "political project" of the BJP and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It is "clearly an RSS/BJP event", the party said in a release.

The party said its leaders - Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, his predecessor Sonia Gandhi, and the party's Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury - who have been invited to the event, have declined.

Read the full statement here: