Uddhav Thackeray's Ram Mandir Speed Post Invite Sparks Controversy; Sanjay Raut Warns Of 'Lord Ram's Curse'

The invitation to the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, two days before the event, has been received by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray through speed post, on Saturday.

A massive row began after the Uddhav faction earlier criticized the BJP for not inviting Uddhav to the ceremony, and now, with a postal invitation reaching Uddhav, the party is furious, as stated by Sanjay Raut, who said Lord Ram would curse them for this.

Sanjay Raut Slams Speed Post Ram Mandir Invitation

A statement quoted by Saamana from Sanjay Raut said, "You are giving a special invitation to the celebrities and film stars. They had nothing to do with Ram Janmabhoomi. But you are treating the Thackeray family this way? Thackeray had played a major and important role in the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation. Lord Ram will not forgive you and will curse you for this. You are praying to Lord Ram and running the government like Ravana."

Uddhav Thackeray had earlier mentioned that he does not need an invitation to visit the Ram Temple and has already been there a few times. Instead, he raised a demand that the consecration ceremony be performed by President Droupadi Murmu in place of PM Modi.

Udhhav stated that the Ram temple was his father Balasaheb Thackeray's dream, expressing happiness about the temple opening, but also criticizing how the BJP captured the event.

The announcement of his party's plan on January 22 was made by Uddhav, stating, "I am a Ram bhakt, a desh bhakt, and not an andh bhakt. The construction of the Ram Temple was my father's dream." Uddhav will be offering prayers at Nashik's Kalaram Temple on January 22 at the same time when the Ram Temple will be inaugurated by PM Modi.

The event will be skipped by Congress, CPM, Trinamool, and Samajwadi Party leaders, triggering a major controversy. Akhilesh mentioned that he would visit the Ram Temple with his full family after the temple is opened.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal stated that he will visit the temple with his family, as his parents wish to visit the temple, but after the inauguration event.

Ram Temple consecration event: Long list of VVIPs

The list of invitees for the Ram Temple consecration event includes at least 8,000 people, encompassing film stars, sportspersons, priests, judges, industrialists, and politicians.

Invitations have been extended to Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Mohanlal, Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Junior NTR, Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Ajay Devgn, Hema Malini, Sunny Deol, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kangana Ranaut, and Madhuri Dixit.

Renowned personalities like Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, lyricist and poet Manoj Muntashir with his wife, lyricist and writer Prasoon Joshi, and director Sanjay Bhansali have been invited as state guests.

Invitations have also been extended to Madhur Bhandarkar, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, Anup Jalota, Sonu Nigam, Anuradha Paudwal, and Kailash Kher. Arun Govil, who portrayed Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's TV series "Ramayan," and his co-star Dipika Chikhlia, who played the role of Sita, are also on the guest list.

Prominent sports personalities like Sachin Tendulkar, chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, sprint queen PT Usha, and footballer Bhaichung Bhutia have been invited.

Additionally, Kapil Dev, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Virendra Sehwag, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rohit Sharma have also received invitations.