Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) worldwide working president Alok Kumar on Tuesday invited Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) patriarchs Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi for inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024.

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The invite got here a day after Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust secretary Champat Rai “requested them to not attend the occasion, contemplating their age and well being situations”.

Sources in the VHP said both Advani and Joshi have said they will try to attend. Advani is 96 years old, while Joshi is 89. The seniors, along with the VHP, were at the forefront of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Advani and Joshi were tried for their role in Babri demolition, although in September 2020, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Lucknow acquitted them.

Champat Rai had said on Monday: “Advani ji ka hona anivarya hai… aur hum yeh bhi kahenge ki who kripaya na aayein (While Advani ji’s presence was essential, we would like to say that he shouldn’t come).”

In an identical means, he expressed concern on the prospect of Joshi attending the occasion. “Dr Joshi se meri swayam varta hui hai. Main telephone pe kehta raha aap mat aaiye, aur woh zid karte rahe principal aaunga… Main baar baar nivedan karta raha ki Guruji aap mat aayiye, aapki aayu, sardi…. apne ghutne badalwayen hain (I spoke with Dr Joshi on the telephone. I saved telling him don’t come, however he was adamant and saved saying that he would come. I saved requesting him to not come contemplating his age, the winter… He received his knees changed),” the Ram Mandir Trust secretary had said.

While the trust’s request was driven by legitimate concern for their health, many in the Opposition, including the Congress and Trinamool Congress, started taking political potshots at the BJP over the issue.

The ground level of the grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with the temple scheduled for inauguration in January. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the pran pratishtha, installation of the Ram Lalla idol on temple premises, on January 22.