Mumbai: Amid a political tussle over former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray not being invited to the inauguration of Ayodhya's Ram Temple on January 22, Uddhav stated on Saturday that he does not need an invitation. He asserted, "Ram Lalla is mine too. I can go anytime I wish. I can go now, I can go tomorrow. When I became the chief minister, I went to Ayodhya. I visited Ayodhya before that also. Yes, I have not received any invitation and I don't need one. I just have one request that this event should not be made a political one." While Uddhav has not been invited, Raj Thackeray, the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, has received an invitation to the event.

"Those who pulled the Babri Masjid down are not there today. Maybe a handful of them are. Some people may have gone on a school picnic because they were of that age at that time," Uddhav said, taking a swipe at Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who has mentioned several times that he participated in kar seva and got imprisoned.

The invitation to the grand event has triggered political bickering as the temple management intended to keep the invitee list small. State chief ministers and governors have not been invited, but all chiefs of all national political parties have reportedly received invitations. The decision on whether to attend the event has become a dilemma for opposition parties. Congress has not yet taken an official stand on whether party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Sonia Gandhi, and Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will attend the event.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury stated that he would not keep the invitation, as the party believes that religion is a personal choice and should not be converted into "an instrument for political gain."

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) criticized the management's decision not to invite Uddhav Thackeray, stating that Balasaheb Thackeray had a major contribution to the Ram Temple. Uddhav faction leader Sanjay Raut said that Ram Lalla has been kidnapped by the BJP, and the inauguration event would be a political one. When the Babri Masjid was pulled down in 1992, the BJP then blamed Bal Thackeray, and he took responsibility for it, Raut recalled.

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