'No matter who attends...' Samastha on Ram Temple consecration

Thiruvananthapuram: The Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama said on Saturday that their sentiments would not be hurt regardless of who attends the Ram Temple consecration ceremony. Samastha is an association of eminent Sunni scholars with the highest support base among Kerala Muslims, PTI reports.

The clarification from the organisation, widely known as Samastha, came in response to an uproar in the state over an editorial in its mouthpiece that criticised the Congress party for its indecisiveness about attending the ceremony on January 22.

Jiffry Muthukoya Thangal, the supreme head of the organisation, said that Samastha's position would be articulated by its responsible members and not by the newspaper.

"Each political party can accept or decline the invitation according to their political policy. No matter who attends — even if it is the Congress — there is no problem with the sentiments of the community. We will take care of the sentiments of the community," Thangal told reporters in Kozhikode.

Earlier, the editorial in 'Suprabhatham,' the mouthpiece of Samastha, accused the Congress of having a soft-Hindutva stance.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders said the KPCC executive meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram did not discuss about the Ram Temple invitation.

AICC General Secretary (in-charge Kerala) Deepa Dasmunshi, who attended the meeting, said the party's stance on the matter would be announced by the AICC headquarters.

The Congress has not revealed whether its key leaders, including President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, and Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, would attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Despite receiving invitations, the party has not disclosed its stance on the matter but expressed gratitude for the invitations.